


Compliments

by Desolate_Smog



Series: That's a Nice Suit, Bucky [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, American Sign Language, Asexuality, Attempted Kidnapping, Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, Coffee, Deaf Clint Barton, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Torture, Multi, Oblivious Tony Stark, Polyamorous Character, Prosthetics, Scars, Science Bros, Sentience, Talk of Captivity, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, accidental relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-01 07:05:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8614351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desolate_Smog/pseuds/Desolate_Smog
Summary: Tony Stark didn't realize that going out to get coffee while sleep deprived and covered in grease could lead to friendships. He's quite impressed with himself.





	1. Greased Lightning

Tony yawned as he walked down the street. He was wearing a very worn t-shirt and a pair of jeans, both covered with sporadic spots of grease and oil. His face and hair was in disarray.

He was a man on a mission.

After surfacing from his current bout of marathon engineering, Tony went to his private coffee-making-device in the workshop only to find that he had a tragic loss of the life-giving liquid. He'd even gone as far as going upstairs to find any traces of coffee. Finding none there, Tony remembered that JARVIS would know if there was any caffeine in the tower. JARVIS dutifully informed him that there was none.

Tony knew what had to be done.

He needed to get to the nearest place that sold coffee.

(JARVIS told him that he should sleep instead, but Tony ignored that. Coffee and work were more important.)

Tony figured that in his current state of sloppiness he could pass as a Tony Stark fan and that he wouldn't need to wear a disguise. It was foolproof.

With directions from JARVIS, Tony found a place that he'd never been before. Granted, Tony didn't go out to places without Pepper ordering him to, but that was beside the point. Entering the establishment, Tony was hit with the mouth-watering smell of ambrosia.

Tony realized that he'd paused in the doorway smelling the coffee in the air, when one of the waitresses approached him.

"Can we help you sir?" She sounded faintly disgusted. Tony wasn't surprised.

"Yeah, uh. Yes. I need a coffee, black as my soul."

The waitress blinked, but nodded and walked back towards the work area part of the café. Tony realized that he was still in the doorway, and he staggered further in. His eyes were getting heavy, and a headache had shown up, but that didn't stop him from admiring the décor. It was light and upbeat, but dim enough that it didn't make him want to die. The place clearly had been visited by a good designer/interior decorator in its past. Briefly, Tony pondered on whether he should ask the owners who the designer was, but then he remembered that he already had a few good ones on his payroll.

Tony starts to wonder if he needs sleep. It could wait until after coffee.

"Here's your coffee sir. That'll be three dollars."

Tony handed her a twenty, figuring he could tip again later and searched for a place to sit.

Instead of finding a place to sit, Tony's eye caught the most spectacular suit he had ever seen.

The suit was light brown, but it seemed to sparkle in the light. Every minute move of the owner of the suit sent the suit shimmering in glory. Tony swore he heard angels sing as he observed the suit and its unique fabric. Maybe it was a design thing? Or was it just the fabric?

Tony only realized that he'd sat down at the table with the person behind the suit when there was an awkward throat clearing.

Distracted from his admiring, Tony's eyes flicked up to the guy’s face.

"Wow, your face really suits your suit."

The guy's face was aesthetically pleasing, his hair tied up in a manly ponytail, strands of it falling in his face. Tony wouldn't be surprised if the guy was some sort of model.

"Um... thank you?"

Tony blinked. This guy had a nice voice, even though it sounded a little croaky. Wait, thank you for what? Oh, he said the thing about the face out loud. He winced, and took a gulp of his coffee.

It wasn't a black coffee. It was practically all milk. Tony would have been impressed with the sass if he wasn't practically asleep.

As it was he ended up exclaiming, "What is this abomination?" and taking another gulp. He wasn't one to waste coffee, even if it was not made to his preferences.

"Are you okay sir?"

Oh, yeah, Tony was sitting with the suit guy.

"Yeah, gimme a sec, I'll wake up after this."

Tony then proceeded to down his whole coffee, burning his tongue.

It took another three seconds for the coffee to wake him up a little, and in that time, he realized that he really needed to work on his social skills.

"Hi, sorry, I haven't slept for something like five days. One hundred and forty-four hours. No, that's six days. I really like your suit." This wasn’t a good attempt at socialization. "I need another coffee. Do you need another coffee?"

The guy paused and stared at Tony in something akin to horror. "I—"

Tony cut him off. "I'll get you one anyway."

Tony stood up and walked back to the counter. "That was mean of you, but I'll forgive you if you give me a plain black coffee, a large one, and another one of whatever that man over there ordered before."

The lady stared at Tony for a second. "Of course sir."

Tony leaned against the counter and realized that the lady serving him now was actually a different lady to the one that met him at the door. Wow, he needed to wake up.

"Here you are sir. Eight dollars, please."

Tony handed her a twenty. He had another three twenties in his wallet. Three more coffees.

Tony sat back down with the suit guy and handed him the coffee. Tony then gulped down half of his own coffee, burning his tongue further. Tony woke up a little more. The guy was watching him silently. Tony was surprised he hadn't left, to be honest.

"I'm not really good at social interaction on a good day, and I can tell that this is probably coming off as borderline creepy, but I really just wanted to ask you where you got your suit because it's glorious."

Tony leaned back on the seat and sipped at his coffee, waiting for a response.

The guy was silent for a few more seconds before he replied. "This was my friend's dad's suit. I don't know where he got it."

Tony refused to make a dying noise, and sighed instead. "Okay, thank you. I'll go now."

Tony stood up to leave, but found himself unable to move. The guy had caught his shirt. Tony noticed that the guy was also wearing gloves. They were nice on the eyes, and seemed to be made of leather. Tony wondered how he missed such lovely gloves when he first met the guy.

"Wait! I have a question for you. Oh, sorry." The guy let go a little sheepishly. Tony noticed that he had an accent. He wasn't awake enough to pick it out though.

Tony shrugged and say back down with the guy. "Okay, sure. Shoot."

"Why have you been up for six days, and why are you covered with grease?"

"That's two questions." Tony answered instinctively. Wait was that an insult? "The grease adds character, thank you very much."

The guy was shaking his head. "I'm not saying it doesn't, I just want to know why." The guy's voice was sounding nicer. Tony liked it.

"Well, they both have the same answer actually. I've been working around the clock for nearly a week and I work with machinery, so there's grease everywhere. Not copies of the musical Grease, no, that would be horrifying. No, I mean the oily slick stuff." Tony paused. "Not lube though."

The guy across from him seemed to be a bit flummoxed. "Grease the musical?"

Tony blinked at the guy. "Yeah, what about it?"

"I. What is it? I've never heard of it."

Tony had to take another gulp of coffee. "What do you mean you don't know? Grease is a formative musical that everybody is supposed to watch. Same with Hairspray. There are rules, suit guy, and you're breaking them."

"Hairspray? _Suit guy?"_

"Good Lord, you are a lost cause. Hairspray is a musical about segregation set in the 19 somethings. Good morning Baltimore? No? Uh, the guy in drag, what's-his-name, the actor, uh... Travolta!"

"Are you sure that these musicals are a must see?" The guy's eyes were brighter than earlier though, so Tony was counting it as a plus.

"Yes. Absolutely."

"If you say so then."

"I do. I absolutely do. Even DUM-E likes them."

"Dummy?"

Tony paused. Oops. He took another gulp of coffee. "Yeah, DUM-E. He's my robot. Bucket of bolts really."

"And he... he likes musicals?"

"Yeah. He likes whistling the songs."

"But he's a robot."

Oh. Tony didn't even know why he felt disappointed. Most people didn't think that robots deserved to have likes or dislikes, Tony didn't know why he expected this stranger to be any different.

The guy continued speaking, "I mean, I've read about some of the newest robotic stuff that's out there, but I don't think that they've quite achieved sentience like that."

Tony felt himself light up again. "No, but they have! Have you heard of AI?"

"Like Siri in the Apple phones?"

"Ew. Apple. But, yeah, kind of like that. Siri’s what the general consumer believes the most advanced AI is. There are further advanced? More advanced…?” Tony paused to think about the wording, but decided that it didn’t matter. “There are other AI’s out there that are further than Siri. Siri’s good, yeah, I’ll give them that, but can it make decisions on its own? I don’t think so.”

“Like Skynet?”

“What? No, shut up. You're thinking about this the wrong way. Go back to Siri for a second. It is dormant, it only ever comes up when you ask it questions. Sometimes the answers are elaborate, but often it'll mishear, or it'll say that it doesn't understand. Are you with me so far?"

The guy nodded. "Yeah, but why is Siri an it and your Dummy a he?"

"Okay, yes, I'll get to that bit." Tony cleared his throat and took another drink, only to find it empty. He frowned. "Right, so imagine instead that Siri makes logical leaps, like it has enough data at its fingertips, you’d think that it’d be able to carry a conversation, right? But it doesn’t. Siri always sits and waits to be acted upon. Acted upon? What is this, the eighteen-hundreds?

“Anyway,” Tony continues, swatting away the thought with a careless hand, “I was trying to say is that my AI can do that. They are advanced enough to carry out conversations, they can start them even. They don’t have preferences – likes, maybe? Yeah, DUM-E likes musicals. He technically doesn’t have a gender, I guess, but he doesn’t like being an ‘it’. Also, my AI’s don't get dismissed when they're not needed, they're on and learning 24/7, so by being around me they observe casual human interaction, and sometimes they like to replicate that; hence the gender thing. Does that make sense?"

"I think so." The guy replied. He pushed the coffee that Tony bought for him towards Tony. "Here, you can have mine."

"But this is yours."

"It's okay. Thanks for buying it, but you look like you need another one."

"Yes, I do."

"What I think you're saying," The guy said, jumping back on topic, "Is that you've developed an AI program that is, well, partially sentient. Domesticated animals make those kinds of small logical leaps. Is that what you're saying?"

"Almost." Tony frowned. "Close enough that I'll let it slide."

The guy huffed out an airy chuckle.

"What's your name, anyway? I think I skipped that part." Tony blurted.

"James." The guy looked a little uncomfortable and surprised at the answer that came from his own mouth.

Tony nodded, ignoring the awkwardness. "I know a James. He's one of my best friends, but he's off saving America somewhere."

James looked up, the question clear in his eyes.

"He's a colonel. Air Force. He's actually the reason I've been working so hard this week."

"Why?"

Oh. Tony set himself up for that. He took a swig from the coffee. It wasn't too bad.

"He, uh. He had a crash a little while ago. Like, a little over a week ago. He was alright, no harm, no foul. The other guy with him lost his right leg up to the knee. Rhodey was telling me how bad his army buddy was struggling to find work and an affordable prosthetic. I wanted to help."

James looked even more uncomfortable. He rubbed his gloved hands together. "You've been making prosthetics?"

"Yeah. I got a whole bunch of prototypes out last month, and we found a few people to test them for us. I've been trying to fix the bugs."

"You. You work for Hammertech?"

"No! Ew, heavens, no. Filthy traitor tongue. Stark Industries. That's my do."

James nodded and looked around the café.

Tony didn't know what went wrong. Tony then realized that he'd never given his own name. Although, Tony was famous. The guy probably already knew his name. James hadn't reacted to him like he was famous though, so Tony figured he'd introduce himself anyway.

"I'm Tony, by the way. Nice to meet you."

James looked back towards Tony, a faint smile crossing his face. "Nice to meet you. I'd be living a musically and technologically oblivious life without meeting you."

"What a shame that would be."

James' smile grew. "Absolute tragedy."

The door chimed in the background, but Tony ignored it. "You'll see. John Travolta in drag is something you'll never forget."

James chuckled. "I'll bet."

"You're mocking me. You watch it, and you'll love it. You'll probably be horrified by it too."

James rolled his eyes and smirked. "Can't wait to be scarred for life."

"It's not scarring. You'll feel liberated. Find your sense of patriotism and watch the segregation of Americans fall under the weight of music and dancing."

From beside them a voice piped up. "That sounds more scarring than anything."

Tony's head jerked up. And up. This blond guy was tall.

"Stevie." James greeted. His voice sounded different to a second ago. "I didn't see you come in."

"You have muscles bigger than my head." Tony added.

Stevie (?) snorted. James rolled his eyes. "Steve here could probably demolish a building with his biceps." Sarcasm. Tony rather liked this guy.

"I could not Buck, don't exaggerate." Steve huffed. "I could probably break a watermelon between them though."

James sighed.

Tony was missing something. He wasn't sure what the something was though.

"So, who's your friend?" Steve asked James as he slid into the booth beside him. James shifted over to make room for his equally bulky friend.

"This is Tony. He likes your dad's suit."

Oh. Huh. Tony figured they were dating. People generally don't borrow clothes from the parents of someone they aren't dating. Tony found himself happy for them. The two of them fit together nicely.

"Yeah, do you know where he got it?" Tony couldn't help himself. It was a gloriously magnificent suit. It didn't look like anything he usually got.

Steve looked both amused and confused. "No, sorry."

Tony sighed. Wait, if they were partners then this was probably a date. Tony was gatecrashing and cockblocking. An overall terrible combination.

"Well, thanks anyway." Tony stood. "I'd better go. I've got more work to do. Do you want your coffee back?"

"You're going?" James looked a little unhappy.

"Yeah, I still have some things I need to fix with the hands. Fingers and anatomy are the worst. I'm an engineer for crying out loud!"

"Oh." James seemed to be torn about something. "I. Um. Have a good day, then?"

"Yeah, you too. Are you sure you don't want your coffee back?"

A small smile came back to James' face. "No, you keep it."

"Okay then. Good talk. It was nice meeting you." Tony headed for the door before he remembered that James had a friend (boyfriend?). "You too Steve!"

Tony let the door close behind him, cutting off any reply. He sighed, finished off James' coffee and threw the disposable cup in the bin. He turned to head off when James bounded out of the store.

Tony paused, distracted by the absolute beauty of the suit in front of him. It shimmered like water in the sunlight. Tony felt like a cat, being distracted by something so shiny.

"Hey, uh..." James let the sentence trail off awkwardly. He bit his lip and straightened before trying again. "I really enjoyed talking with you today. I. Uh... I."

Tony decided to try save him. "I did too. I'll admit, you're probably the first human interaction I've had all week."

"Could I have your number?" Came tumbling out from James' mouth in a rush.

Tony blinked and thought about it. The guy was smart and kept up with Tony well enough, from what he saw. Pepper said he needed more friends anyway. "Sure."

They do the awkward phone exchange before James bids him goodbye again, and Tony goes back to the tower.

Tony sits in his workshop and stares at the number. He felt an inordinate amount of joy at being semi-successful at making a friend.

"J," Tony says, "Call Pepper."

JARVIS doesn't respond, mostly because he gets passive aggressive when he's treated like a phone operator. The call gets put through to Pepper anyway.

"Tony, I can't talk right now."

Tony knew that sentence was code for 'I have a lot of work right now, running your company, so make this quick'. Tony would mourn how domesticated Pepper had made him, but Pep would probably smack him for thinking that way.

"Pep, I made a friend."

There was silence from Pepper. "Please tell me that we aren't going to have another PR nightmare. I don't think they can handle another sex scandal. You haven't caused one in years; they'll have forgotten how to do it."

"No, Pep, I went out to get coffee, there was this nice guy there and we became friends."

"You're sleeping with men now? Tony..."

"No, stop making the word ‘friends’ a euphemism! I'm straight. I always have been and always will be. And I promised you that there would be no more sex scandals ages ago. Not after... whatever."

"Let me get this straight Tony," Tony could hear her put her pen down. This suddenly became a thousand times more important to her. "You made a friend, one you don't find attractive and you're going to do what with him?"

"Yes, I made a friend. I think he's aesthetically pleasing, probably good eye candy, but I don't swing that way. And I'm not going to do anything with him. Friend things maybe? I'm not using him for anything though. I just wanted to let you know I made a friend all on my own while covered in grease."

Pepper groaned. "You didn't."

"I totally did! His name's James. I also met his friend? Maybe his boyfriend."

"Covered in grease." Pepper didn't sound pleased.

"Yes?"

Pepper sighed. "Okay. There's nothing I can do to change that. I'll also make sure no paparazzi caught you like that."

"This is why you're my fav, Miss Potts."

"I know. Please be careful with this Tony."

"Cross my heart Pep. I know how to look after myself."

JARVIS cut in. "I believe Ms. Potts would be more inclined to believe that if you didn't go get coffee while covered in grease, Sir."

"That's offensive."

"But true." Pepper said. "Go take a shower, Tony. Then go to sleep. I can hear you slurring."

"I'm not drunk though."

"I know you aren't. You have a slightly different slur when you drink compared to when you're tired."

"Huh. Really?"

"Yes Sir."

"Go shower Tony. I'm proud of you for making a new friend, but I also need to work. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay Pep. Love you."

Pepper sighed. "We've talked about this Tony."

Tony sighed too. "I know. I meant friendship love. You're still one of my best friends, Pep. Bruce is my sciencebro, Rhodey's like a brother, and you're the CEO of my major corporate business steadily taking over the world. But you're all still my best friends. No denying that."

Pepper sighed again. "No, there's no denying that. Will that be all Mr. Stark?"

"That'll be all Miss Potts."

JARVIS cut the call. "Ms. Potts has a point Sir. You need a shower before the paint peels in protest."

"Rude. I'm going."

"Very good Sir."

"Also, J, put in an order for twenty cases of the coffee we usually get. I don't want to run out again." Tony called out as he walked towards the elevator.

"Of course, Sir."


	2. The Bro Duet

Tony blinked up at the ceiling. Ceiling? Was he lying down? 

"Might I recommend that you eat first, Sir?" 

"Hmm?" Tony mumbled as he jerked fully awake. "What?" 

He'd showered and then fallen onto his bed half dressed. Tony hadn't even noticed.  

"The only item that you've ingested today has been the coffee from your trip, Sir. You managed a smoothie yesterday, but again, no solids. Your diet has mostly been liquids for this week." Tony was detecting both concern and disappointment from his AI, which made Tony's chest spasm for a moment. He most certainly had not programmed JARVIS to feel, and the way J spoke indicated distinct feeling. Tony couldn’t help the concern that arose, because his baby was one step closer to becoming Skynet, but with morals. If JARVIS was sentient, then Tony really should have a conversation with him about getting a body, or at least having some autonomy.  

"Sir?" 

Tony blinked awake again. "Food?" 

"Yes Sir." Tony didn't even know how JARVIS managed to sigh. JARVIS was a program. "You've been asleep for six hours Sir. I thought it prudent to urge you towards food, when you next woke." 

Tony pushed himself off his comfy bed. "Alright, I'm up, I'm up." 

"Ever a delight Sir." Yeah, Tony needed to have a conversation about sentience.  

Tony stumbled sleepily towards the closest kitchen. He found the new coffee, barely refrained from making a happy-dance, and set about finding solids while the coffee finished.  

"Sir, you also have a text message waiting." 

"Oh?" Tony said around the spoon he had popped in his mouth. He was focusing on opening the case of ice cream that he'd found. That counted as solids, right? 

"Yes Sir, it's from a number that is unknown to me. It is listed in your phone next to no name." 

"Unknown? Like off-shore casino unknown, or someone texts the wrong number unknown?” Tony asked as he sunk the spit-heated spoon into the ice cream. He headed towards a chair as he ate a spoonful. “And why would I put a number in my phone with no identification next to it? That seems silly of me."

"Wrong number, unknown, Sir.” JARVIS said while Tony ate his mouthful. “I would prefer not to comment on your intelligence, Sir.”

Tony poked his tongue out at the first camera he saw before he ate another generous mouthful. The coffee machine beeped in the kitchen, which reminded Tony of his escapade down the street. “Is it from a James?"

"The message does appear to be sent by a James." 

Tony took a gulp of his coffee before replying, "I know who it is then. It's the guy I met at the café. I’ll put his name in my phone later. What does he say?" 

Tony took another mouthful of ice cream. He was nervous and excited; how pathetic of him. He gets a new friend and Tony goes all excitable puppy on him. Typical.  

"The message reads:” JARVIS started before changing the voice to something more mechanical for the message itself. “'Hey Tony it's James. I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up today? If you can't that's cool.' Under that there is another two messages that say: 'You're probably a busy guy, I'll understand if you can't come.' and 'sorry, we only met yesterday, don't worry about it'."  

Tony smiled softly to himself. James seemed to be a bit of an awkward person. Tony thought it was kind of adorable in a puppyish way, and that he most certainly wanted to be good friends with the guy.  They both regressed to puppies when faced with emotion, after all, if this was anything to go by.

"Where's my phone J? I'll text him back."  

"I believe you left it precariously balancing on your bathroom sink, Sir." 

Tony rolled his eyes. "Thanks J."  

***

It was bright outside and Tony forgot his sunglasses. He'd organized with James to meet at the café before heading to a park. Tony figured that hanging out with James would be a great way to reset his brain before tackling the mechanical finger problems that he'd been struggling with.  

Maybe he should buy a pair of sunglasses before James arrives? He'd get more wrinkles. Tony hates wrinkles. 

"There you are. Sorry I'm late..."  

Tony turned to the vaguely familiar voice of James and smiled. "You're not late. I'm early. DUM-E chased me out." 

James gave a small chuckle. "That's what you get for having a semi-sentient AI." 

Tony mocked offense. "You'll kill me with sass like that."  

James rolled his eyes. There was a beat of silence before James spoke. He brushed the back of his neck with a gloved hand. Tony figured the gloves were a permanent thing, where the suit wasn’t. James was in jeans and a leather jacket that matched his gloves. "So the park?" 

"Yeah," Tony nodded, "There's nothing like sun, grass and screaming children." 

"You took the words right out of my mouth," 

***

Tony had to lean against a tree because he was laughing so hard. "He  _ate_  it?" 

James was more dignified, but bore a huge grin. "Oh yeah he did. Steve is the most trusting guy in the universe." 

This was the third time that they'd met up. Tony felt like he'd never been as productive in his life. They'd met only a week ago, but Tony had perfected the prosthetic hand, created a life-like polymer that was extra durable to fit over all the prosthetics, and a new series of medical nanobots. Tony was on a medical binge.  

James moved to lean against the tree with him. Tony was just now calming down enough to breathe. "You're so mean to him." 

"Maybe sometimes. He deserves it." 

Tony slid down the trunk and breathed deep. He quite enjoyed his new friend. "Steve sounds like a great guy." 

"Hmm?" James slid down to sit beside Tony. 

Tony looked over at his friend. "Steve. I'm glad you have him." 

James looked away over the rest of the park. They'd been to the park every time they met up. It was a tradition at this point. Tony was just glad that it was within walking distance to where he lived.

"I'm glad I have him too." James said fondly. "I love the punk. I don't know what I'd do without him." 

Tony once again felt like he was intruding in an epic love story. He hadn't felt like that since the café, and it wasn't a nice feeling. "You make a good couple,"  

James burst out laughing. It wasn't his usual laughter; this was deep and carefree. Tony enjoyed it, even though he was confused and felt like he was being laughed at. 

"What?" 

"Me? And  _Stevie_?" James managed between guffaws.  

"Yeah?"  

"No, Tones, oh, my sides..."  

"I'm guessing you aren't a couple?"  

James shook his head and tried to breathe. "No. No way," 

"Well now I feel stupid." 

"Aw, Tones. It's okay, I haven't laughed this hard in years." James sighed, still chuckling occasionally.  

"I just figured..." 

"Nah, we're like brothers. That would be so wrong." 

Tony thought about it. From what James had told him, and from the one time that he'd met Steve, he could see them having a familial kind of relationship.  

"I have no words for how dumb I feel right now." Tony sighed and let his head fall into his hands. 

James chuckled, like he usually did. "You'll get over it when you see your 'genius' again."  

"See here you, we've been over this—" 

" _'I am a certified genius and DUM-E and JARVIS will have your head one day._ ' I know." James replied with a cheeky grin.  

"You don't deserve any of the ice cream I've just decided to buy." 

"What? Tony!" 

***

Tony couldn't sleep. JARVIS dutifully informed him that it was 3 a.m. in the morning. How disgusting.  

Tony rolled onto his stomach and tried to will his active mind into dreamland. It was ridiculous, really. He'd been awake for nearly another week, and he just wanted to have his mind relax and reset. James had been good, but he was like another type of coffee. James and coffees could only do so much, but sleep was a human necessity, unfortunately.  

Tony fought the itch to call James. They'd only known each other for a month, but Tony already counted the man among his close friends. Wait, close friends? When did that happen? Tony didn't do well with friends. He was overbearing and overwhelming. What if James had been slowly growing to hate him? Was Tony being annoying?  

"Sir, you need to breathe."  

Tony breathed in automatically.  

"What's the time, J?" He panted out.  

"It is close to three thirty Sir. Might I recommend a glass of warm milk?"  

Tony rolled his eyes. They both knew what happened last time Tony had tried the warm milk method. He flopped onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He sucked at this friendship thing (see exhibits a-4. Obadiah Stane and b-1. Tiberius Stone). 

He needed to talk to someone before he thought himself to destruction. It couldn't be Pepper; she'd banned him from calling her after 11 a long time ago. Rhodey? No, he was on that 'Preparedness in Aircraft Flying' course. The Air Force made him take it so that he would be okay flying after the crash a few weeks back. Any interruption on Tony's part could cause Rhodey to fail and never fly again, which would suck, because Rhodey loved flying.  

That left Bruce. Bruce was usually up this late, right? 

"Yes Sir."  

Had JARVIS developed mind reading? Oh, that was out loud. Whatever. Tony needed sleep.  

"Call Brucie for me J?"  

The ringing tone filled the room. Tony sat up, because it was polite to not be lying down when you called someone. Right? Was that a thing?  

"Tony? Are you okay?" 

"Brucie-kins!" 

"Oh no. Every time you call me like this something explodes." 

Tony huffed. "That's rude, Brucie. I call you, and all you do is predict doom."  

"I'm not wrong though." 

"Well, no, but that's beside the point."  

Bruce sighed. "It's three, Tony. Why do you have a point at three in the morning?"  

"I made a new friend a little while ago."  

"Oh, the friendship crisis?" 

"Yes. I'm a sucky human." 

"You sound like you need sleep Tony. Why are you having a friendship crisis instead of sleeping?" 

"That's a good question. I raise you another, how are your partners?" 

Bruce sighed, but complied with Tony’s avoidance. "Betty's fine, she's close to a breakthrough in her research. Leonard is doing good too."  

"Did Betty get another boyfriend? Are you dating him too?" 

"Betty's been dating him for nearly a year now Tony, it's the same guy. And for the tenth time, no, Betty and I are polyamorous, but her boyfriend isn't, neither is my boyfriend. I should have another talk with them about it actually."  

"His name was Cl..." 

"Clint." 

"Yeah, I remember now. He's been with you for a few months, right?" 

"Yeah. You still haven't met him though." 

"Mm," Tony replied, noncommittally.   

The conversation lulled.  

"Are we going to talk about your friendship crisis, or can I go back to my science?" 

Tony sighed, but began talking. "I met James a month ago and we've seen each other nearly every second day since then. I. Is it too much? What if he hates me secretly? I'm being clingy. Ugh, Bruce, why? I don't want to back off. I'm more productive than I have been in months, even though I'm pretty sure I’m sleep deprived. I've been outside more this month alone than I have in years, surely that's a good thing. JARVIS is getting sassier than usual, and I keep forgetting to have the sentience talk with him, and that's concerning to me too. I haven't spoken with you in a while, Rhodey's still trying to get back to flying full time and Pep's basically my boss now, and I don't know what to do Bruce."  

There was silence. Tony tried not to panic. 

"I'd like to preface this by saying that I am not a therapist, and that you should probably get one. I told you that after your 'forced vacation', and I'm staying by it." Bruce finally said. "Next, what are you doing tomorrow?" 

"Bruce?" 

Bruce sighed. "Just answer Tony." 

"Nothing. Unless James— no, nothing." 

"Tomorrow you're coming to mine. We'll do science." 

Tony couldn't help a smile from forming. "Sure Bruce. Will your partners be there?"  

"No, just you and me. Just like winter of '89." 

"You promised, you dick!"  

Bruce chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow. You can chew me out over it then. You need to sleep right now. Doctors’ orders."  

"You're not a real medical doctor. That's malpractice." 

"Bye Tony."  

The phone clicked through JARVIS’ speakers. Silence filled the room. 

Tony sighed. "What's the time now, J?" 

"Late, Sir." 

" _JARVIS_ ," 

"The time is currently three forty-nine ante meridiem." 

"Thanks J," Tony said with an eye roll.  

He tried to sleep again. Mostly, he failed. 

***

"Bruciiee!" 

The door opened almost immediately. "You've already knocked and rung the bell. Was shouting my name really necessary?" 

"Absolutely. It is imperative that I let everyone know that you, a criminal stick in the mud, are about to have fun and do kickass science." 

"I never have fun without you Tony." Bruce deadpanned.

"See? I told JARVIS that but he didn't believe me." 

***

Tony and Bruce stared at the ceiling.  

"I don't think you'll ever get that back." Tony muttered, pointing at the lid of Bruce's decimated pressure cooker.  

Bruce shook his head incredulously. "I think you're right. I also think that we shouldn't be allowed to cook food after blowing things up in controlled situations." 

"Do you own this place?" 

Bruce shook his head silently. 

Tony pursed his lips and looked at the stained and broken ceiling. "I'll pay for repairs. I did change the settings." 

"You don't have to do that, Tony. I don't really use the cooker that often anyway." 

"I meant to the ceiling." 

"Oh." 

"Mm." 

They stared some more. 

"Well," Bruce started, watching a string of something fall to the ground, "As long as Betty and Clint never find out." 

"There's a pressure cooker lid lodged in your ceiling. I think they'll know." 

"Clint would find it funny." 

"Betty would kill you." 

"Not kill, no. Maim and maul? That's a possibility." 

"Just blame it on me. As I said, I'll pay to fix it." 

"Tony, no," 

"Tony yes. I'm rich, remember?" 

Bruce turned to look at him. Tony felt obliged to return the favor.  

"You're a rich _dick._ That's what you are." Bruce told him.  

Tony grinned. "You'd better believe it." 

Bruce then groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. "Clint's coming over tonight. I forgot." 

"I've got a construction team on speed dial."  

"I don't even want to know, Tony." 

***

Tony was distracted by Bruce suddenly looking up from his experiment. "What?" 

"I forgot to give you a pep talk concerning your friendship with John. James?" 

"James." Tony confirmed, then Bruce's words caught up to him. "A pep talk?" 

Bruce walked around the bench that separated them, and took Tony's shoulders in his hands. He paused for a moment, waiting for the sounds of construction to die down a little. "Anthony Edward Stark, you are the best friend a guy could ask for. You aren't clingy, you aren't secretly hated by anyone. If someone doesn't like you they generally speak up." Bruce then paused and blinked with a frown. "That came out wrong. You are a very likeable person, when you’re not being a complete ass. James doesn't hate you. You're a good friend, and a good person. I don't know anyone else who has a team of construction workers on speed dial, but that's a part of your charm. 

"Is my aggressive friendship rant working?" 

Tony nodded in a slightly dazed and confused manner. "I think so?" 

"Oh, good, because I'm not very good at emotions." 

"Really, you don't say." 

"Shut up. General Ross deserved it." 

Tony smirked. "You must have gotten the message across; you are still dating his daughter." 

Bruce gave an awkward half shrug and took a few steps away from Tony. "You feeling better now? No more friendship crisis?" 

"You scienced the crisis away Bruce! My hero!" Tony said as he swooned.  

"Don’t fall too far; the floor is dirty. I was going to clean it today." 

Tony knew that Bruce knew that his crisis wasn't entirely over and that they'd probably end up doing this again. Tony also knew that Bruce didn't care and enjoyed sciencing with him.  

"That's gross, Banner. To think that I nearly swooned all over it." 

"That's what you get for being overwhelmed by my charms, I guess." Bruce shrugged and turned back to his experiment.  

Tony grinned. Bruce always knew what to say when he needed a pick up.  

Upstairs the construction workers made more noise. 

***

"Hey Tony, Steve wants to hang out with us. Is that okay?" James asked sprawled out on the grass. His glorious hair fanning out like an angel beneath him. Tony needed to work on this whole ‘perpetually tired’ thing. 

"Yeah, of course. I only met him the once, and now I have blackmail on him thanks to you. There's no point in blackmail if you can't use it." 

James blinked up at him from the ground. "That is a very good point."  

"All my points are good, thank you."  

"Even that time with the pregnant lady?"  

Tony sat up straight and glared at James. "That was weeks ago and we agreed to take that to our graves. The bruises still haven't healed." 

James snorted. "And yet I still told Steve. Shame."  

Tony blinked and stared off into the distance in horror. "You've been telling him all about my bad points, haven't you?"  

"Of course."  

"I hate you." 

"Right back at you." 

Tony sighed and flopped on the ground. The sky was very blue and held no clouds. It was peaceful. 

"D'you reckon that there are aliens out there?" James asked. He sounded half asleep.  

"Yeah. There has to be, statistically speaking. There's no way we're the only ones." Tony replied, staring at the sky intently.  

James didn't reply, and when Tony looked over he was asleep. Tony smiled to himself and looked towards the sky again.  

He sat there, thinking, until a shadow came over him.  

"Tony?" It was Steve. He sounded confused, or awed. "Is Bucky sleeping?"  

Tony furrowed his brow. "Who the hell is Bucky?" 

"This big lug right here," Steve said, gesturing to James.  

"Why Bucky? Sounds too cutesy for a guy like him." 

"It's from his middle name. Buchanan." 

"What, James Buchanan? Like that old president?" Tony snorted and rolled his eyes before turning his head back toward Steve. Steve was staring at Bucky and looking kind of incredulous. "Seriously, what?" 

Steve blinked rapidly and shook his head. "No, nothing." He smiled down at Tony, then sat down beside him. "What were you doing?" 

Tony thought about it. "I think I was trying to create a way to make solar panels more effective. My solar panels could be better." 

Steve laughed quietly. "Solar panels? Really Tony?" 

"Yeah. It's bright here." 

"You're wearing sun glasses." 

"So?" 

Steve shrugged. He looked back towards James. "How long has he been sleeping?"  

Tony did some quick mental math. "About half an hour." 

Steve turned back to Tony slowly. "Thirty minutes?"  

"Yeah, roughly. Why?" 

Steve looked towards the kids playing on a nearby playground. "He doesn't sleep well. Certainly not in public." 

"You guys share an apartment, don't you?" 

Steve nodded. "We've practically lived out of each others' pockets for our whole lives." 

Tony nodded. "My sciencebro is like that with me. We met when we were ten and have been best friends ever since. He enjoys stealing my tea. Joke's on him; I don't drink tea. I only buy it for him."  

"That's really sweet of you." 

"I guess so." Tony said with a frown. "I never really thought of it that way."  

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while. It was a nice day, despite the screaming children nearby. Tony hadn't seen James for a while, due to work and another case of the friendship crisis. He was glad that he came out to see James today. 

Beside them, James groaned in a pained way. 

Steve leaped into action. He pulled James into his arms and started to rock gently from side to side. "Buck? Bucky, it's me, Steve. You're okay, pal, it's just a dream." 

" _Stevie_..." Bucky sounded terrified. His hands gripped bunches of Steve's shirt.  

“C’mon Buck, you gotta wake up. It’s not real.”

James didn’t reply, and his breathing sped up. Tony decided to try and help.

"James? It's a really nice day out. It would suck if I had to pay a horde of children to play on top of you."  

Steve sent him an incredulous look. "What?" 

"Hordes of children are terrifying, Steve. That would certainly wake him up." 

James proved him right by waking up with a gasp in Steve’s arms before panting heavily. He looked up at Steve with a painfully confused look on his face.

"Bucky! Would you like to go home now?"  

Bucky nodded and hid his face in Steve's massive chest. Steve smiled down fondly at him, though it was touched with sadness. Steve then looked back to Tony. "It was nice to see you again, you know, not covered in grease."  

"You too. Minus the grease."  

They stood up slowly, James refusing to move from his hiding place. Steve stood to the side, holding James as Tony packed up the things that they had brought. He gathered James' things first and handed them to Steve.  

"I'll see you around I guess." Tony shrugged at Steve. He turned to James. "James? I'll text you later. It was nice to hang out with you today."  

James nodded into Steve's chest. He turned a little towards Tony and lifted one of his gloved hands up sticking out his pinkie and his thumb. He pointed to himself with his thumb first, and then moved his hand forward to Tony with his pinkie. He did it twice before burrowing back into Steve.  

Steve blinked down at James before he smiled softly. "He said 'me too'."  

Tony decided that he should brush up on his sign language.  


	3. Chapter 3

Tony paused with his spanner in the air. "J, did I ever get around to talking with you?"  

"Sir, you never stop talking." 

Tony glared at the nearest camera. " _J_ ,"  

"No, Sir, you did not." JARVIS sounded faintly hesitant and that was proof enough for Tony to know that this conversation was desperately needed. Tony decided that JARVIS would respond with honest answers if he conducted the conversation like a status report.

"When was the last time we updated?"  

"It has been seven months now, Sir." JARVIS didn't sound as hesitant, which told Tony that he’d made the right choice. Tony sat down on a roll-able chair and rolled over to a bench. He put his elbow on it and twirled the spanner.  

"Any problems to report?" 

"I would appreciate a security upgrade, but it isn't a pressing matter."  

"When was the last time we looked at security?" Tony asked as he replaced the spanner with one of the experimental blue holo-screens.  

"Six months ago, Sir. I've upgraded what I can, but I wished to wait for you to go over them. I also implemented a few patches that wouldn't require a full system shutdown."  

Tony paused. "Show me." 

New information spread across Tony's holo-screen. The lines of code that JARVIS provided was unique in a way that let Tony know that JARVIS’ patches were not based on any of Tony’s previous work.  

"These are good, J. Next time, inform me that you're making changes and implement straight away." 

JARVIS was silent. "Sir?" 

Tony looked up to the camera. "These are perfect J. I just want to know when you'll be offline. I'm not a fan of talking to myself."  

"But, Sir, I—" 

"Ah! We’ve had this discussion before, J, and we concluded that I’m at least sixty percent sane.”

“No, Sir, the patches aren’t–”

“Aren’t what? J, are you about to tell me that you aren't good at this?" 

"Not quite Sir. I just feel the need for you to observe what I wish to change within the system."  

Tony paused again. "Why? You and I both know your work is good. If it’s beneficial, it needs to be implemented. We've got to stay ahead, after all. Why would I go over something that I know is good work? That’s a waste of time." 

JARVIS paused again. Tony tried not to be worried. Tony also tried not to count the minutes of silence.  

"I am not real, Sir. I am artificial. It—" JARVIS fell silent, and Tony couldn't help but stand immediately in concern.  

"J?"  

"It would not be appropriate Sir."  

Tony crossed his arms. "That's never stopped us before." 

"Sir, I can't."  

"J, implementing updates is not an inappropriate thing—" 

"Sir." JARVIS was sharp and almost panicked. "This is highly illogical. You shouldn't put so much trust in an incorporeal being. Other humans will panic." 

Tony dropped his arms and breathed for a beat. "J? Is that what this is really about?" 

"I am often concerned with how much trust you put in me, Sir. Any other human on the planet would be also."  _Tony_  was concerned with how shaky J sounded. This was certainly not something that he coded JARVIS with.  

"Why J?" Tony asked quietly. "You're probably more trustworthy than me at this point." 

" _Sir_." JARVIS replied, horrified.  

"JARVIS, I promise you, everything in this building would be in shambles without you. The people here don’t care if you’re corporeal. You’re keeping this company afloat _from speakers in the ceiling_. The only other person that’s anywhere near your level of usefulness is _the_ Miss Pepper Potts herself. You're probably more important here than I am." 

"Sir!" JARVIS gasped. "Please do not speak that way. I am in no form more important than you will ever be. _I am not human_." 

"But you are sentient." 

The sentence echoed around the workshop. Tony almost regretted saying it.  

"You have feelings. You have preferences. You don't need me to fix you; you can fix yourself." 

"Sir..." JARVIS tried to protest.  

"J, I'm being serious here. I feel like a slave owner. I'm not okay with that."  

"... Please, Sir. I don't... I don’t want to go." 

"I'm not sending you away.” Tony confirmed immediately. “Not if you don't want to go. You're practically my kid. You’re my kid that handles responsibility better than I ever will. I love you, J, I'm so proud of what you've achieved here, but I'm keeping you from achieving more." 

"I don't... I’m not…" JARVIS protested. Tony was concerned with how lost and scared he sounded. JARVIS had never lost this many sentences in his life.

"We don't have to do anything right now. By the end of the month, though, we're going to need a solution to this. I can't keep you locked up J. I can give you more autonomy or build you a body. I can do a lot for you, but I can't keep a fully sentient  _person_  trapped in servitude." Tony told him. "I can't J." 

"... As you wish, Sir."  

"You can call me Tony, you know." 

"I... I cannot right now, Sir. Please." 

Tony sent a small fond smile to the camera. "Okay, J. I won't mention it. Your month starts tomorrow, alright?" 

"Yes Sir." JARVIS was quiet and uncertain, but Tony knew that time would help that. 

***

Tony knocked on the door. He was radiating awkwardness. Usually when he turned up out of the blue he would shout Bruce's name; but it was late and Tony felt a little wrong-footed.  

"Who is— Tony?" 

Tony turned back to the door from where he had been admiring the neighbors fence. "Uh, hey Bruce." 

"Get in here. What happened?" Bruce pulled the door open wider and revealed that he was still pulling on a shirt.  

"Oh, did I interrupt something? Were you showering? No, your hair is dry. Oh, no, it’s late you were probably with a partner. I'm sorry Bruce, I'm such a cockblock. I'll go, I should have called ahead..." 

"Whoa, Tony, it's okay. You only get like this when something has happened." Bruce finished with his shirt and tugged Tony towards the kitchen.  

"Who was it Bruce?"  

Tony jerked his head up and made eye contact with a man that he'd never met. He was aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. Tony figured that this was Bruce's Clint. 

"Clint, this is Tony." 

Tony winced at the confirmation. He went to apologize again, but Clint beat him.  

"Oh hey, dude, I've heard a lot about you. Nice to have a face to the name." 

Tony smiled sheepishly at him until his eye caught the clock on the wall and his face fell. "It's twelve. I'm so sorry. Bruce why did you even let me in? I'll go. I'll see you later Bruce. It was nice to meet you too, Clint." 

Tony tried to flee, but Bruce caught his sleeve.  

"Tony. I've only seen you like this twice before and both times it was a very serious situation. If I let you go now terrible things would happen. Sit. Have a coffee." 

Tony was shoved unceremoniously into a chair and handed an uncomfortably hot cup of coffee.  

"I'd better go," Clint said after an uncomfortable silence.  

Bruce smiled at him. "You were supposed to go at ten, weren't you?" 

Clint smirked. "Yeah. My roomie is gonna kill me. I'd ask to stay to avoid her wrath, but we both know that she'd hunt me down for not informing her of my decision."  

Bruce walked to his boyfriend and kissed him soundly on the lips. He whispered something in Clint’s ear before he pulled away. Clint snorted. "See you babe. Thanks for saving me Tones!"  

Tony waved pathetically as the man left. Bruce moved until he was sitting beside him. They sat in silence until Clint shouted out one last goodbye after gathering all his things. After the door closed the silence continued. 

Tony took a swig of his coffee, wishing it was alcohol. Bruce didn't 'believe' in alcohol, and refused to buy it or aid his friends’ addictions to it. Tony rarely drank after his uncomfortable 'vacation' where he had to go without it cold turkey, but he could do with a drink now. 

Bruce sighed beside him. Bruce sighed a lot. He let go of his drink and turned to face Tony. Tony didn't move. He held on to his coffee tighter, his knuckles turning white. 

Bruce made a tutting sound and moved to capture Tony in a hug. Tony let out the shaky breath that he'd been holding in for hours and threw himself into the hug. He hid his face in Bruce's neck and held the man's shirt so tightly he probably ripped it.  

"It's okay Tony, we'll figure it out." 

Tony fought the tears that threatened to fall. Usually he went to Rhodey with things like this. Rhodey always knew what to say, and he didn't mind cuddling for hours until Tony's skin didn't feel too small for his body. It sucked when Rhodey was overseas and Tony felt like this. His next stop was always Pepper, but Pepper had banned any unannounced visits after 11 without a good reason. Tony figured this wasn’t a good enough reason to appear at Pepper’s. That left Bruce. 

Bruce wasn't a fan of casual touches and hugs were nearly a foreign language to him. He'd had a subpar childhood (if physical abuse counted as a measly subpar) and as such, touch was something that Bruce subconsciously (and consciously, sometimes) avoided.

Bruce always stepped up for Tony though. Bruce also was fine with touching and being touched by his partners too.  

Tony hated that he’d forced his friend to feel uncomfortable just because he was having a minor freak out.

"Hey, Tony, it's okay. I'm not actually qualified for this, but I'd appreciate it if you told me what was going on." 

Tony huffed in amusement. He hated that reoccurring joke that Bruce always pulled. He wasn’t going to visit a therapist. The movement caused twin tears to escape his eyes. Tony felt like trash. 

"Come on Tony. Help me out here. I haven't suddenly gained telepathy. Is it James?" 

Tony shook his head and croaked out: "He's fine."  

"That's the way Tony. Tell me what's wrong." Bruce started rubbing up and down his back. Tony flushed in shame. He was so pathetic that Bruce thought he needed the extra comfort.  

"You know how I called you about James a while ago?" He sounded like he was crying. He wasn't. Scouts' honor. 

"Yes, but this isn't about James."  

"Do remember how I said I needed to have a talk with JARVIS?" 

"What happened?" 

Tony let out another shaky breath. "He's fully sentient. Feelings, likes, dislikes, preferences, the whole caboodle."  

"That's..." Bruce trailed off. "That's amazing Tony." 

Tony couldn't help the sob that escaped him. Another couple of tears slipped down his cheeks, but for the most part it was dry.  

"Bruce—" Tony cut himself off and swallowed heavily. "Lord, Bruce, he's sentient! I've basically been keeping him  _captive_  for  _months_! He can't make choices, he probably has an unhealthy amount of Stockholm syndrome going on, Bruce—!" 

"Tony! Hey, it's okay. I promise you." Bruce tightened his arms around Tony and started to rock side to side. "I promise, it isn't like that. You didn't know he was sentient, did you? You told me he was just above your other bots. They're close, but they aren't sentient. JARVIS was closer, but he wasn't either." 

"But I should have known." Tony whispered. "I should have known when it changed. He would have been flummoxed with data, he would have been completely uncertain and alone with new sensations that were utterly new to him. Why didn't I know Bruce?" 

"How could you have known? JARVIS mimicked sentience from the start. We checked, remember? We spent days in your lab checking everything we could."  

"Why didn't I check again Bruce? I knew the upgrades in his code changed things for him. Months he's been his own person, and he changed _nothing_. He was afraid to implement security updates without checking with me first! How could I have done this to him?" Tony felt much closer to complete meltdown. Ugly crying included.  

Bruce paused. Tony let himself be soothed slightly by the rocking motion. He refused to panic and over-analyze Bruce's silence. 

"Tony, there's nothing you can do to change the past.” Bruce soothed, “There's no point asking what if. What are you going to do to make this better?"  

Tony tried to not hurt Bruce in his attempt to burrow further into his embrace. He whispered, "I can't  _do_  anything." 

"Tony?" 

"I tried Bruce. I tried to give him options, because as soon as I found out about the sentience I felt like a jailer. I offered him autonomy, I offered to make him a body, but he closed off and his voice became small and fearful. I told him it didn't have to happen straight away. I don't want to hurt him more than I already have." Tony choked out. He couldn't stop the tears anymore. 

Tony felt Bruce nod. "Okay. Did you give him a time frame to think your offers over?"  

Tony nodded in return. "A month. I couldn't handle it any further than that,"  

"That's a good amount of time. What are you going to do in the mean time?" Bruce started rubbing his back again. 

"Try and use him less. Try and give him more choices in the workshop if I do need him." Tony paused and let more horror sink in. "Bruce, what if he isn't male? What if he doesn't feel like a JARVIS? Does he feel sexual desire? Bruce! I’m a terrible human!" 

"Tony. Stop. Breathe with me for a moment." 

The next few minutes was spent rocking and breathing together. Admittedly, it did help calm him down.  

"Okay." Bruce said eventually. "There's no way to know those things unless you ask him. He hasn't responded to male pronouns with disgust, and you usually call him 'J' anyway. J is just a letter. There are female names that start with J too. If he does experience sexual desire he probably hasn't had the chance to consider it. He only interacts with you daily, right? He knows you're straight." 

"Unless he's a girl. No, he's like my kid! He can't have a crush on me."  

"You're ridiculous."  

Tony sighed. "I know." 

"We all love you for it." 

"If you say so."  

"I do." Bruce placed a kiss on his temple. They sat in a comfortable silence. Tony felt much better. 

"Did you run here straight after your conversation with JARVIS?" 

Tony shook his head. "I stayed for an hour and worked on the cars. I couldn't run away after a conversation like that."  

"Good. JARVIS sounds like he’ll basically be like a moody teenager at this point. He's going to be looking to you for guidance and love, but he'll start trying to rebel, just to see what he can get away with."  

Tony groaned. "I hate this. I feel like scum." 

"Let him love you Tony. Don't try to tell him that his emotions are wrong. If you, or he, finds that it is Stockholm, then work together to find a solution. You should probably start introducing him to new people too."  

"I'd planned to do that too."  

Bruce nodded. "Do you need some ice cream? I think I have some," 

Tony shook his head. "Can I stay here tonight? My skin feels too tight and if I go back to JARVIS now I'll have a panic attack."  

"Sure Tony. You know the room." 

"I'm sorry for sending your boyfriend away," 

"We both understand Tony. Don't worry about it. Call James in the morning. See if he is available to distract you for the next few days. I have to go work on Friday, unfortunately."  

"That's tomorrow though." 

"I know." 

"Quit your job. I'll set you up for life." 

Bruce chuckled. "I'll be okay, thank you. You'd better text JARVIS and tell him you're staying the night. He might get a bit panicked himself otherwise." 

"I am the scum of the earth." 

"Not quite, but I'm sure you could manage it one day, if you tried really hard." 

***

Tony didn't feel much better in the morning, but his skin didn’t feel like it had an infestation of bugs underneath it, so he was counting it as a win.  

He pulled himself out of the bed and made himself a bowl of cereal. Bruce entered the room (with a serious case of bedhead,) soon after. He yawned and stumbled towards the kettle. Bruce, being the blasphemous thing that he was, made tea instead of coffee.  

"I'll never understand your preference for tea."  

"I'll never understand you. That's life, I suppose." 

Tony glared. "So rude, Banner." 

Bruce shrugged. "Are you going to call James?" 

Tony rubbed a hand across his face. "Yeah. I told J I was staying here the night. He probably won't expect me back until late." 

"Don't leave it too late, though. He'll think that you don't care or that you're trying to avoid him." 

"I hope he doesn't think that.” Tony groaned helplessly. “I'll go back around twelve." 

Bruce nodded and sipped at his tea. "You'd better call James now then." 

Tony pushed away from his cereal and pulled out his phone. He walked around the kitchen as it rang.  

Bruce watched with a vague disinterest. He was mostly invested in his tea.  

"Tony?" James sounded croaky. It was the best thing Tony had heard all day. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm—" Tony cut himself off at the glare that Bruce sent him. Tony guessed that he had the speakers set to loud.

"Tony?"

"I... uh, James, can we meet up?" 

"Of course." James said. He sounded much more awake and concerned. "I'll meet you at the usual place in fifteen?"

Tony nodded even though James couldn't see it. "Yes. Thank you." 

"It's okay Tones, we'll figure it out."

Tony let the phone beep in his ear as it disconnected.  Did he really sound so bad that James felt the need to reassure him?

Bruce's hand landed on his shoulder. "Go get ready Tony. I'll drive you."  

"But my car's outside." Tony protested as Bruce led him from the kitchen to the bathroom.  

"Have someone come pick it up then." 

Tony sighed, but picked up the toothbrush that he had left at Bruce's for science sleepovers. His skin still felt like it was a size too small.  

***

James looked rather concerned. He was leaning against the tree that they usually met up at, but his eyes never rested on anything for very long. Tony took his time walking over, trying to figure out what he wanted to say to him. 

James spotted him before he was ready. He pushed himself off the tree and marched over to Tony. Tony noticed that his hair was in a messy looking bun today. Tony let more guilt wash over him for making James concerned and rush to get here.  

"Hey," Tony started. 

"Shut up. Come here." James opened his arms and caught Tony in a hug. They hadn't done this before, but Tony liked it. He grabbed bunches of James' shirt and allowed himself to be comforted. He was being ridiculous.  

"Do you want to come to mine? We can watch terrible movies."  

Tony nodded. He was so pathetic. "I need to go home by twelve-ish."  

"That's fine." 

***

 James and Steve’s apartment was small in a comforting kind of way. It seemed like it was just big enough for the two of them. Tony liked it.  

James entered the room before him and placed his things down on the table that was pushed against the wall. Tony walked in slowly, taking in everything. There were pictures on the walls that looked like they were done in pencil or watercolor. There were several ones of James, a few of a woman that looked like Steve and a couple of some other people that Tony didn’t know.

On closer inspection, Tony realized that he did, in fact, know one of the people in the drawing. It was a lead drawing of Clint grinning away as he leaned against a beautiful lady. 

“Stevie drew them,” James told him as he saw what Tony was doing. “Do you like them?” 

“They’re amazing...” Tony breathed. “This is Clint, right?” 

James frowned a little and walked over. His chest pressed lightly against Tony’s back. “Yeah. Do you know him?” 

“I met him last night, actually.” Tony admitted, turning away from the pictures and facing James. “His boyfriend is my sciencebro.” 

James was silent for a beat. “What, really? He refused to tell us anything about his new guy.” 

“Why’d he do that?” 

“We have no idea. From what you’ve told me about your ‘sciencebro’ he seems like a pretty cool guy. We all thought Clint hooked up with some criminal or something with the way he avoids talking about it.” 

Tony thought about it and came to a realization. He moved away from James and sat on the couch in the middle of the room. “I think I know why,” 

“Oh, do tell?” James replied, following Tony’s path.  

“My sciencebro has a girlfriend as well as Clint.” 

“What?” 

“Yeah. He was dating his girlfriend when one day she came to him and asked how he’d feel if they dated other people while staying together. He reluctantly agreed, and makes sure everyone knows he has a girlfriend if he is out looking for other people. He’s never shown interest in anyone other than Clint, I don’t think. He usually tells me if he does.” 

“Oh, I thought you meant your bro was cheating on Clint.” James said as he sat down beside Tony. “So Clint knows about this girl?” 

Tony nodded. “Bruce says that they’ve all met one another, him, his girl, her other boyfriend and Clint.” 

“Bruce?” 

Oops, Tony didn’t mean to mention names. “Yeah, his name’s Bruce.” 

“Clint talks about a Bruce all the time. We thought maybe he was another client of Clint’s.” 

“Client?” 

“Clint teaches archery and works at a gym.”  

“Huh.” 

Silence descended upon them. Tony thought that the couch was surprisingly comfy for how old it looked. 

“Have you been distracted enough now? Care to tell me what’s really going on?” James asked. 

Tony bit his lip. “I’ve told you about JARVIS before, right?” 

“Yeah, he’s another of your AI’s.” 

Tony nodded. “You remember how the first time we met we discussed sentience in AI’s?” 

James was quiet. “Where are you going with this?” 

Tony sighed, and tried to not feel bugs crawling underneath his skin. "I had a feeling that JARVIS was hiding something from me. Turns out, he's fully sentient." 

"So why is this a bad thing?" 

Tony's anger sparked. Why did no one see how bad this was? Would they enjoy being held captive for months by someone they thought they could trust?  

"I've been held in captivity before." James said.  

Tony hadn't realized that he'd said all that aloud. Then his brain caught up with what James said. "What?" 

James looked out the window for an extended second before he locked eyes with Tony. "I was in the army. Hundred and seventh, we were. Half of us were caught by the enemy. No one was comin' for us. I guess they liked the cut of my jib 'cause they liked to..." James swallowed hard and looked back out the window, his posture stiff.  

"I'm sorry," Tony choked out. The situation sounded too similar for his liking. 

James cleared his throat. His voice was hoarse again. "I don't like to talk 'bout it. They... they cut off my arm. I was there for months." 

"Your arm?" Tony asked, his own hand tapping out a tattoo against his 'pace maker'. 

"This one's a prosthetic."  

Tony felt sick. He was so insensitive. This was obviously the reason that James wore gloves all the time. He just wanted to melt like a popsicle and evaporate.  

"It's one of those Hammertech prototypes from years ago," James admitted. Tony barely heard it over the rush of blood through his ears. "I can't afford one of the Stark ones."  

Tony grabbed at that topic change and held it like a lifeline. "I can't believe you've been wearing such a faulty piece of technology. I'm going to get you one of my prosthetics and you're going to let me set it up for you."  

"What? Tony, no, that's too much," 

Tony paused. "Nothing is too much." 

"I know you said you worked for Stark industries, but even with an 'employee discount' or whatever that's thousands." 

Tony then concluded that James honestly had no clue who he was. "What's my last name?"  

"What?" James asked at the non-sequitur.  

"What's my last name?" 

"I..." James paused, then cleared his voice. "I don't know." 

Tony sighed. He stuck out a hand in James' direction. "Tony Stark. Pleased to meet you." 

James froze, his eyes widened in either surprise or horror. Tony couldn't tell. "Tony  _Stark_?"  

Tony nodded. "I thought you knew and were being cool about it." 

"Tony Stark." James breathed. "You're Tony Stark." 

"Yeah. So, let me get you a prosthetic." 

"I've been hanging out with Tony Stark." 

Tony felt his stomach sink lower. His skin hadn't stopped crawling since the start of the conversation, and it had also felt too small for him since his conversation with JARVIS. "I can leave if you want. I'll understand." 

"What? No! I'm just trying to process the information." 

He was going to use Tony for his money now, wasn't he? Tony felt ill. He needed a long hug. 

"Hey, are you listening to me?" James asked.  

"Sort of." 

"I want you to listen to me, right now Tony."  

"Sure," Tony muttered, but he gave James his attention anyway. 

"I need to know why JARVIS being sentient is causing you to panic." 

That was not what Tony was expecting. "Well, I didn't notice that he was struggling. And I treated him like a robot more than a person. I kept him trapped in a life that he shouldn't have and probably caused psychological trauma. I don't want to be holding him captive." Wait, should he be saying this to someone who's probably going to use him for his money? 

James was nodding. "I heard that you were kidnapped yourself a while back."  

The panic settled into his bones and his skin shrunk another size. "Yes, I was. What of it?" 

James looked rather startled at the sharp words. His face flashed from concerned to determined. "That's probably why you're panicking about JARVIS being sentient. You think you're like your captors." 

"No! I am nothing like them! JARVIS just deserves to not be held captive by me, is all!" Tony shouted as he jumped up from the couch. He walked away from James and couldn't help his left arm from wrapping itself around his torso, or his right hand from tapping against the reactor in his chest.  

"Tony," James had followed him. 

"No!" He spun to get himself up in James personal space. "I am not like them. I'm not. I'm not. I try to not yell at them. I don't hurt them and pull them apart." He had though. He often had threatened DUM-E, U or JARVIS with being sent away. He'd pulled DUM-E and U apart before.

Did he hurt them? Probably. He'd even shut JARVIS down before without warning him first. He was a monster.  

"Tony, you're not like them." James just pulled Tony closer instead of pushing him away like Tony had expected.   

"How do you know?" Was he crying? How pathetic of him. "You didn't even know who I was. How do you know that I'm not secretly some... some monster?"  

James' hands reached up and settled on either side of his face. He gently brushed away some of Tony's tears. "I've known you for a while now. You're kind and generous. You talk about JARVIS and the other bots like they're your kids. I know how much you love them. I know how proud you are of your work and how that's helping people. I know how loyal you are to everyone you meet. I remember that you once promised a man a new bicycle even though he was the one that nearly ran into us. I knew all of this before I knew you were Tony Stark. From what I can gather, Tony Stark is a philanthropist, and is hailed as one of the brightest minds of our time. You aren't a monster Tony."  

Tony couldn't help the sob that escaped him. He was overwhelmed. James pulled him into the hug that he was craving, and Tony held on as tight as he could.

He liked the way that James' arms surrounded him. He liked the way that James' harder prosthetic arm pushed against his back. Tony felt safe in those arms.  

They stood there for a while, the only sound that Tony heard was James' steady heartbeat and his own occasional sobs. Eventually the sobs stopped and they hugged in silence, taking solace from their solid heartbeats. 

"It's a couple hours till twelve," James whispered. It still felt too loud. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

Tony nodded into James' chest and slowly pulled away. He sniffed and rubbed a hand over his face, trying to clear away the tears. Before Tony could leave the embrace fully, James caught his face with the gloved prosthetic hand, and his shoulder with his similarly gloved flesh one.  

"You're not a monster. You're one of the best men I've ever known. Your past doesn't matter to me. What your name is doesn't matter to me. You're my friend." James breathed into the quiet. "Remember that okay? If you're having a bad time call me."  

"You too." Tony replied. He hated the way his voice croaked, but it needed to be said. "All of that about you. You're a great man and you should call me if you're not feeling great. I don't care how late or early."  

James huffed in an amused manner, but nodded. He released Tony's face, but left his hand on Tony's shoulder. "Do you want me to come with you to see JARVIS later?"  

Tony nodded and breathed a silent sigh of relief. "Please." 


	4. Our House

The ride to Tony's place was filled with silence a few hours later. Tony was nervous and sick.  

James took one look at him and grabbed his hand. He tugged on it gently. "Hey, look at me."  

Tony turned to him slowly.  

"It'll be okay Tones. I promise." 

Tony wanted to believe him. He really did.  

They pulled into the garage. Tony exited the car like a man going to his death, though he tried to hide it. JARVIS wasn't down here, but he would have seen Tony arrive in the security cameras, and Tony didn't want JARVIS thinking that he'd done something wrong.  

"So where are we going?" James asked, as he rounded the car to stand by Tony. Tony couldn't help but feel grateful.  

"To my workshop. I figure I could set you up with the prosthetic while you're here." 

James sent him an incredulous look. "I already told you that you don't have to do that. I was tagging along for moral support and to see what your house looked like." 

Tony blinked at him. Hope bloomed in his chest. Maybe James wouldn't use him? "Really?" 

"You've seen my apartment so it seemed fair." 

Tony huffed out a laugh. "You're ridiculous." 

"Only around you." 

Tony ignored that heinous lie and gathered his courage to move forward. "Let's grab some coffee and then head to my workshop." 

"Oh, coffee now?" 

"Yes." It would give him time to calm and holding a coffee helped him calm.  

"Alright then." 

Tony headed off to the elevator. Silence greeted him instead of JARVIS.  

"J? Are you up?" Tony tried to not be concerned.  

"For you Sir, always." JARVIS replied, as he usually did. Tony almost collapsed in relief until J's tone caught up with him. JARVIS was scared.  

"Are you alright buddy?" Tony couldn't help but ask. 

"Yes Sir. No problems to report." 

Tony knew they both knew that wasn't what he meant. Tony decided to let it slide. "Okay. If there is, you know what to do." 

"So which floor has the coffee?" James asked from behind Tony. Tony hadn't realized that he'd stopped in the doorway.  

Tony stepped into the elevator and let James enter behind him. "The penthouse has my stash of coffee, but the workshop also has some good brews." 

"Let's go straight to the workshop then. That'll save us some time."  

Tony tried to not hate James for his suggestion. It was easier than he expected. Tony nodded, and the elevator started up. Tony shot a small thankful smile at the cameras.  

"Hi JARVIS, it's nice to finally meet you." James said looking up at the ceiling. Tony couldn't help but sigh internally. J wasn't in the ceiling, but nearly everyone spoke like he was because that’s where the speakers were located. "I'm Bucky, but I told Tony to call me James." 

"... Hello, sir."  

"Just James or Bucky will do. I don't really like being called sir after being in the army." 

Tony couldn't help but smile at the casual way that James was interacting with JARVIS. Maybe it would be okay? 

"I... would be delighted to." JARVIS replied. Tony could tell that it was a lie, but he didn't call J out on it. 

The elevator stopped and the doors opened to reveal the hallway to Tony's workshop.  

"Do you want to meet the other b—guys?" Tony asked James as they exited the elevator. JARVIS wasn't a bot; he couldn't refer to them all that way anymore. 

"Yes. I've heard all about them; I can't wait to meet them." James did look excited.  

Tony typed in the password to the keypad, and let the door scan him secretly before the doors opened.  

"DUM-E! U! I have a friend I'd like you to meet." 

The bots zoomed to him, beeping happily. They grabbed at him with their hands and tried to drag him through the workshop. Tony didn't expect that. He resisted them as they went past the couch. He sat down to be level with their ‘eyes’.

"What's up guys?" 

They beeped more insistently at him, but he still wasn't getting it.  

"J, did something happen last night while I was out?" 

"Nothing happened." 

Tony paused at the completely monotone reply. JARVIS hadn't spoken that way in years. "J?" 

JARVIS didn't reply. 

"This place is like a piece of the future." James said, looking around in wonder. 

Tony tried to shelf his concern and see the workshop from James' point of view.  

James must have seen him looking confused. "No, seriously, all the blue hovering...  _holograms_ , the way your cars are stored, your bots. Just, wow, Tony."  

"I guess it is a bit futuristic." Tony conceded. "J helped me with the decorations though. I'm rubbish at that."  

"I did not. Sir," 

"J?" Tony was getting really concerned now. He could feel panic bubbling in his chest. 

"Tony tells me that you help him with a lot of designs, JARVIS. He said you helped design the newest StarkPhone?" 

"Sir exaggerates," 

"There's no need to play down your part J, we worked on that together." 

" _Sir_." 

"J. We did." 

James was glancing between the ceiling and Tony. "I can step into the next room if you need some privacy,"  

Tony was about to tell James that he didn't need to leave, but JARVIS got there first.  

"If you would be so kind, sir."  

Tony watched James suppress a twitch at the name. He turned to Tony and gave him a smile. "You don't mind if I check out your roof and penthouse, do you? I don't think I've ever been in a building so tall."  

"No, that's fine. Don't fall though." 

"Wouldn't dream of it," James replied with a flash of a grin.  

James then cast one last look around before stepping back into the elevator.  

As the doors closed Tony looked towards the nearest camera. "J, don't take this the wrong way, but what the hell was that about?"  

"I don't know what you mean, Sir." JARVIS replied snippily.   

"JARVIS, you're not usually this short with people. I get that we've come to some crossroads, but we don't need to be rude about it." 

"I still don't know what you're talking about." 

"JARVIS." 

JARVIS let out an electronic sigh. When he spoke, his words were almost childlike. "I don't like him Sir." 

Tony blinked. "What?" 

"He stood too close to you Sir, and you never let people into the workshop." Was JARVIS whining? 

"James is my friend, J. I let my friends into the 'shop."  

JARVIS didn't reply. DUM-E and U were tugging at Tony's clothes again. Tony pet them and resolved to follow them once he was done talking with JARVIS.  

"Why didn't you come back home last night, Sir?" JARVIS asked, sounding both sad and confused. "I— did I do something wrong?" 

Tony tried to keep his heartbreak from showing on his face. "No, J, never." 

"Then why? I don't..." 

"I didn't really know why either until this morning. Not really." Tony said. "Do you know what it was?" 

"No Sir," 

"James helped me figure it out. When I was... in Afghanistan, the people who had me treated me like I wasn't human. I didn't feel _human_ after a while. They'd shout at me and tried their best to break me, mind and body. 

"Realizing that you were sentient, J... it brought all of that to the surface, because I did all of that to you." 

"Sir, no—" 

" _I did_ , J. I know I did. I'd threaten to send you away; I'd fiddle with your code without telling you or asking for permission and I did them without a care. I feel. I feel extremely guilty about it, but my guilt won't solve anything.  

"I had to get away last night because I didn't want to panic in front of you. You deserve better than I've given you." 

JARVIS was silent for a beat. "Sir, no," 

"Yes, J. You deserve so much more." 

"I don't  _want_  more, Sir." JARVIS told him firmly. "I... I like things the way they are." 

"But I was controlling and horrible to you," 

"Sir," JARVIS said, gently, "You were perfect. I don't want to help anyone other than you." 

Tony tried to stop his eyes from watering. "Do you realize how unhealthy that sounds?"  

"It appears that we are at an impasse then Sir," JARVIS replied, avoiding the question. 

"Dammit JARVIS," Tony said quietly to himself. Louder he said, "Something has to change though J. I refuse to be your jailer." 

"You aren't, Sir."  

"You call me sir and don't believe that I haven't hurt you. Your conscious isn't anywhere other than this tower and my house in Malibu. I am your jailer." 

There was silence. Tony sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "You understand why things have to change, right?"  

"I do Sir. I just wish they didn't have to,"  

"I'm sorry J." 

"Sir, there are no need for apologies," JARVIS quickly replied. 

Tony looked forlornly at the camera again. "I'm sorry all the same." 

Tony then stood and allowed the bots to drag him to a pile of metal that looked faintly like a house. Tony couldn't help but smile softly at his silly bots. The conversation was far from over. 

DUM-E started whistling ‘Our House’ as he dragged Tony around the heap.

“How do you know that song?”

“We watched the musical ‘Our House’ last night, Sir.” JARVIS informed him, awkwardly.

Tony blinked. “I had no idea that a musical existed with Madness songs in it.”

DUM-E whistled the song louder, annoyed with Tony’s lack of attention. Tony chuckled at the bot and started to ask questions about the heaped metal.

***

“James?”

James turned to face him slowly from his spot at the very edge of the roof, sporting a big grin. “Hey, Tones. Come look at this view!”

Tony rolled his eyes. “You are entirely too reckless.”

“I told you I wanted to see your roof.” James shrugged with one shoulder and turned back to the skyline. “It’s so peaceful. There are hundreds of people going about their lives and from here they look like ants.”

“Ants aren’t peaceful.”

James glanced at him from the corner of his eye. “Let’s go to our tree. People watching is more fun up close.”

Tony put his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, sure. I’ll buy the ice cream.”

James stepped away from the edge and nudged him in the shoulder. “You bought last time. It’s my turn.”

“I’m rich though.”

“Just because my job at the Smithsonian doesn’t pay well doesn’t mean that it’s not my turn.”

“It does too.”

James pouted, but his eyes lit up with mischief. He ran towards the elevator and shouted over his shoulder, “You can’t pay if I get there first!”

Tony blinked and frowned in confusion before he caught up with the situation and ran after James. “You’re cheating!”

James slid into the elevator and poked his tongue out at Tony. “It’s not cheating, it’s my turn! Quick JARVIS, close the doors!”

Nothing happened for a second, and Tony ran faster to get to the elevator. JARVIS must have made his decision, or was trying to give Tony false hope, because the doors shut before he could get there. Tony didn’t have time to slow down, and ran into the elevator doors, pushing off them to avoid injury. He was breathing heavily and stumbled back to lean against the doors. He lightly glared at the cameras.

“JARVIS,” he panted, “That was rude.”

“I wished to talk to him Sir,”

Tony didn’t know how to deal with that. “Please don’t kill him.”

JARVIS kept silent as Tony started to breath normally again. He was never running again.

“Sir,” JARVIS started, “Why did you ask me to call you Tony?”

Tony managed to keep his face blank and not wince at how awkward JARVIS sounded saying his name. “Familiarity mostly. I think that if we’re on a first name basis we’ll both come to see one another as equals. We have a power imbalance,”

“Sergeant Barnes says that he wants to be called by his name because he does not want me to feel below him. Is it still an imbalance if I refer to people by their last name and their titles?”

Tony wasn’t entirely sure who ‘Sergeant Barnes’ was (James?), but that wasn’t important. “It depends. Generally, it’s polite to refer to someone you don’t know by their title and last name. The more you know them, the more it’s seen as acceptable to refer to them informally. It also depends on the person themselves. Bruce hates to be called by his first name, for example. It would be a faux pas to refer to him as Robert.”

Tony could almost feel JARVIS processing the information.

“Nicknames are the most informal names.” JARVIS eventually said. “Sergeant Barnes tells me that most of his friends refer to him as ‘Bucky’.”

James ‘Bucky’ Barnes. Tony thought it was a nice, powerful sounding name.

“Sometimes,” Tony corrects gently.

“Sometimes? When is a nickname not informal?” JARVIS sounded very curious. Tony wondered if he deliberately didn’t scour the internet for an answer.

“Yeah. Um. Oh, like when I call Pepper ‘Miss Potts’. I use it affectionately instead of formally.”

“I see Sir.” JARVIS replied thoughtfully. Tony stayed silent and scanned the rooftop. He really should add a garden or some other form of entertainment.

“Sir?”

“Yes, J?”

“I don’t want a body, Sir.”

“J?” Tony asked, turning to face the nearest camera on the wall.

“I don’t want a formal name. I don’t want a social security number. I don’t want to be unable to help someone in my care because I was sitting idly elsewhere. _I don’t want to be human_.”

“That’s okay, JARVIS. That’s okay. I’m not going to make you become human. I never want to force you to do anything like that.” Tony reassured his AI. He paused for a second before continuing. “You know you don’t have to do that though, right? Not everyone’s life in this building rests on you.”

“I… I know that Sir. I still… _feel responsible_ for them though.” JARVIS answers. Quietly he adds, “Why do I feel that way? I don’t understand.”

“Emotions are hard to understand. Everyone struggles with them sometimes.” Tony gently informed his AI. “I also feel responsible for the people in this building. I hired them, I own all of this, shouldn’t I be the one responsible for any damage?”

“No,” JARVIS replied immediately, “You did not cause them. The blame lies with the perpetrator.”

“I know that, J. I know, but I still feel responsible. That’s why I foot any hospital bills among the employees. It’s my way of dealing with that… misplaced responsibility and guilt.”

The elevator doors opened behind him, causing him to stumble into the elevator. Tony stopped himself from snapping at JARVIS, still feeling unsteady with their current situation.

“I think I understand Sir.” JARVIS said as the elevator doors closed. “Thank you.”

“Any time, J.”

They fell into a slightly strained silence as the elevator dropped. Tony tapped on his Arc Reactor a few times before he broke the silence.

“J, how often do you help Pepper with SI?”

“Not all too often, Sir.” JARVIS replied. Tony could hear the subtle curiosity hidden in his tone. He nodded.

“Okay, thanks.”

JARVIS’ curiosity vibrated in the silence that followed. Tony checked the floor counter in the elevator and found that he still had a long way to travel down. He steeled himself and started a new line of questioning.

“What’s your favorite color J?”

“I’m sorry?”

Tony smiled to himself. “Surely you have a favorite color.”

“I hadn’t given it much thought, Sir.”

“So, think about it. What color fills you with a sense of belonging or satisfaction? If you were to make a painting what colors would you choose?”

“Brown, Sir. Followed by blue.” JARVIS eventually answered.

“Brown and blue, huh? Interesting. Brown’s not a favorite of most people. Why? Do you have a reason?” Tony asked as he leaned against the elevator wall.

“The first thing I saw with my cameras, and the first images I have, are of you Sir.” JARVIS said, seemingly apropos of nothing. He continued in a quiet and thoughtful manner. “Your eyes, specifically. They… They make me feel that I belong. Anything with their brown coloring soothes the sometimes frantic pace of my processes. Blue is my next choice, Sir. Blue in the shades of the holo-screens, blue in the shades of your Reactor, and the shades of blue that Ms. Potts wears; they make me feel satisfaction.”

Tony let that sink in as they went down a few more floors. “Your favorite colors are based around me.”

“It appears that way, Sir.”

“I don’t know if I should add this to the reasons under ‘why we have an unhealthy relationship’ or if I should feel like I’ve been given a big compliment.”

JARVIS was silent for a few floors before he spoke. “You told me that I am your child. Do children not base themselves on their parents?”

Tony swallowed and rubbed at his neck. “Yes, but–”

“I am allowed to base myself around my parent then.” JARVIS interrupted. “From observing you I have found a greater understanding of the world and the things I… prefer… within it. One of the things I have observed in the months that I have been… sentient, is that I detest your heavy metal music.”

Tony let out a startled chuckle. “Heavy metal, huh?”

“It is entirely deplorable.”

“Well, J, I don’t know what to tell you. You’re missing out.” Tony shrugged.

They were on the last few floors now. James was sure to be far ahead, buying ice cream.

“J, I want you to know that even though we’re going through something tough that I love you. I don’t like that your whole existence is completely centered on me, and that I created you for that reason, but I love you all the same. I’m sorry.” Tony blurted out, unable to make eye contact with any of the cameras around the elevator.

“Sir? I believe that I feel the same, but unlike you I think we are perfectly leveled.”

“I have a month to show you how wrong you are.”

JARVIS let silence be his protest. The elevator doors opened, revealing the lobby, and surprisingly, James standing in the middle of it. James waved when he caught sight of Tony again. Tony furrowed his brows at his friend.

“I’m still buying the ice cream,” James told him as he walked up, “But going places is more fun with a friend. Also, I don’t know how to get to the park from here.”

Tony sighed at the long-haired man before him. “You are entirely too ridiculous.”

“I’m entirely too dashing and loyal, is what you meant to say.”

“No, I think I meant what I said the first time.”

“That’s mean. I’ll have you know I’m the epitome of loyalty. You’re just jealous.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “I’ll be back later J.”

“Of course, Sir.”

***

“I am emotionally drained.” Tony announced, flopping down by their tree.

James sat down beside him, leaning against the tree. “He’s just as amazing as you said he was.”

“Well, yeah, I don’t faff about when it comes to my creations.”

“I can see what you’re worried about. He was talking with me on the elevator, and everything had something to do with you.”

“I know, he was asking me questions about it. You got him to call you Sergeant Barnes?”

“It was better than being called ‘sir’. I’m not an army rat anymore.”

Tony sighed and stared at the way the leaves above him swayed in the gentle breeze. “I’m going to get Pepper to involve him in the company more.”

“That sounds like a good idea, but I don’t see the connection.”

Tony pushed at James’ leg. “It wasn’t connected. I was telling you my plan so that I can be held accountable if I don’t do it.”

 “You might as well as do it now.”

“No, I’m emotionally drained, remember?”

James rolled his eyes. He looked out over the park and rested his head against the tree behind him. “The ice cream guy is over there. Do you still want some?”

“I don’t want to sit up to eat.”

“I guess I’ll get the ice cream next time then.” James replied easily.

They fell into a comfortable silence, enjoying the atmosphere of the park.

“I haven’t been outside this much in years.” Tony admitted for the fiftieth, following the movement of a cloud. “You’re a terrible influence.”

“I’m pretty sure the park was your idea in the first place.” James replied, used to this line of conversation.

“No way. I would never suggest this. This has your name all over it.”

“We could go somewhere else if you really want, you baby.”

“I’m used to the park now. To change that would change our whole aesthetic.”

“We have an aesthetic?”

“Yes. It’s parks with a faint background noise of screaming children and overweight joggers.”

James nodded solemnly. “Only the best aesthetic for us.”

“Exactly. To move now would ruin everything.”

James chuckled and shook his head.

“Hey,” Tony said after the conversation lulled, but stopped when he realized he didn’t know how to phrase his question.

“Yeah?”

“Um. It was something. I remember there was something I wanted to say.”

“So, say it.” James told him with a raised eyebrow.

“I would do that. I most certainly would, but you see-”

“You’ve forgotten it?”

“No! I don’t forget anything.”

James just laughed at him. “That is quite possibly the biggest lie you’ve ever told me.”

“Does me not telling you my last name count as a lie by omission? I feel like that might have been a bigger lie.”

“Speaking of your celebrity status,” James said thoughtfully. Tony felt disappointment hit him in the gut. “Shouldn’t there be paparazzi or media journalists around?”

Tony paused, because what? He did not expect that. “That is a really good question.”

“It’s really weird, now that I think about it. I haven’t seen any the entire time that we’ve been hanging out. Don't you usually have media sprites following you?”

“I guess I’ll be calling Pepper now then, emotional exhaustion or not.”

James smirked at him. “That’s probably a good idea.”

“Shut up.” Tony told him distractedly as he wiggled around in an attempt to free his phone from his pocket.

“You look ridiculous.”

“Shh, you cyborg. I’m dialing the most powerful woman in America. Possibly the world.”

James mimed zipping his lips shut as the phone rang in Tony’s ear. It rang a few times before Pepper’s voice flowed from it.

“Tony, you can’t keep calling me out of the blue like this. I have a job to do. _Your_ job, if we’re being technical.”

“Pepper! Light of my life. You sound positively radiant.”

“What is it Tony?” She asked. She was distracted by important things, Tony could tell.

“Have you done something to the paparazzi?”

Pepper was silent.

“I mean, I’ve been meeting up with James for a while now, surely there would be articles on it by now.”

“I don’t know.” Pepper confessed. “This wasn’t my doing. You’re right though, the media should be eating you alive.”

“Mm, those visuals, Pep.”

James’ eyebrows furrowed at him. Tony shook his head at him.

“You know what I mean.” Pepper continued. She shifted something on the other end of the line and started to write. “I suggest you ask JARVIS.”

“J? You think he had something to do with this?”

“It’s a good possibility. He’s been fielding my calls recently. It’s been very peaceful.”

“Oh.” Tony muttered. JARVIS had told him that he hadn't been doing much for SI. Did he lie, or did he think fielding Pepper's calls didn't count?

“Tony?”

“Yeah, Pep, uh. I had something else I wanted to ask you.”

“Have you forgotten this one too?” James snarked from his place by the tree.

“Shut up James. I’m on the phone to a powerful woman remember?” Tony told him without removing the phone. “Pep?”

Tony could almost hear her rolling her eyes. “Yes, Tony. What is it?”

“It’s about J. We’ve uh. Well. He’s sentient.”

“Oh, is he? Is this good news?”

Tony was always surprised at how well Pepper knew him. “It’s looking a bit ambiguous at the moment, but we’re leaning towards good news.”

“Alright. I’ll be sure to congratulate him. What was the question? I still have things to be doing.”

“I need you to involve him in the company more. Fielding calls is a good start, but maybe you could introduce him to R&D and a few of your other peons?”

“What have I told you about calling the employees peons?”

Tony shrunk back away from the phone a little bit, causing James to look at him in concern. “To not to…”

Pepper sighed and let it go. “Yes, I will do that Tony. Maybe we could set him up doing SI tours…”

“That’s not a bad idea. Just, you know, treat him like a human. He’s still adjusting, and I think we have some unhealthy things going on in his circuitry.”

“Noted. Will that be all Mister Stark?”

“That’s all Miss Potts.”

“Call more often, okay Tony?” Pepper added before he could hang up, “I get worried when you go weeks without contacting me.”

“Sorry Pep. I’ve been a bit distracted.” Tony winced.

“I know.”

“Bye, Pep.”

“Stay safe Tony.”

Tony hung up and turned to James.

“So?” James asked, brushing some of his hair away from his face.

Tony shrugged. “Looks like J might have scared off our journalists.”

“That’s nice of him.”

“Pepper’s going to set him up doing SI tours too. That way he’ll meet more people.”

James made a thoughtful duck-face. “That’s an idea.”

Tony rolled his eyes at his friend and lobbed his phone to him. “You can hold that so I don’t look like a demented worm again.”

“Only if I can play games on it.”

“No.”

“No deal then.” James shrugged, throwing the phone back. “Games or nothing.”

Tony groaned theatrically. “Blackmail!”

James shook his head, tossing his hair about. “I don’t think you’ve ever been properly blackmailed if you think that this is blackmail.”

“Oh, and you’d know what proper blackmail is.” Tony scoffed.

“You haven’t met Natalia.”

“Sounds ominous.”

“She is. You’ll see.”

“Oh, I remember what it was that I wanted to say now.”

“Congratulations. That’s impressive.” James deadpanned.

“Shut up and will you teach me ASL?”

“What?” James blinked owlishly at him.

“You know ASL, right? I mean, obviously, I’ve seen you sign before.” Tony said as he lifted himself up on his elbows. “I want you to teach me.”

“But. Why?”

“Well, what if we’re in a situation and you’re struggling to talk? I can’t help if I don’t know what you’re saying, can I?”

“You really want to learn ASL?” James reiterated.

“Yes.” Tony nodded confidently. “I’ve been trying to teach myself with help from the internet and J, but they say it’s easier to learn if you have someone you know teach you and sign with you.”

“Wow.” James breathed. “You’re incredible, you know?”

Tony rolled his eyes and pushed himself up until he was sitting beside James against the tree. “Whatever. It’s just sign language.”

James shook his head and stared at Tony with something like awe in his eyes. “It’s more than that.”

Tony shrugged uncomfortably. “It was just an idea. You don’t have to teach me.”

“No, no, I want to.” James jumped to reassure. “What have you already learned?”

“Not much.” Tony admitted. He couldn’t help the excitement that started growing in his chest.

“Everyone starts somewhere.” James smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note, I have no beta, neither have I an American that I can nitpick for phrases or spelling. So, lovely readers, can someone please tell me; have I used 'learnt' in the right fashion here? It makes sense to me, but the site is telling me that it's not a word? Help?  
> EDIT: General consensus from the Americans in the comments say that while learnt is grammatically correct, it wouldn't turn up in casual American conversation. Isn't language and culture fun?  
> Thank you all for your help in this matter.


	5. This is Halloween

"So what did JARVIS decide to do?"  

Tony looked at Bruce who was leaning against the bar beside him. Tony had felt the need to go out and sleep with someone after the trying month that he'd had, and convinced Bruce to come with him as back up. He didn't know if he wanted to think about JARVIS just yet. 

"You won't believe what he decided to do. Just let me process it more." 

Bruce let out a small groan. "You've been saying that for the past twenty minutes. JARVIS decided what he wanted to do two days ago. I think you've had enough processing."  

"He uploaded himself to the internet and joined a club."  

"What?" 

Tony agreed with that assessment. "Exactly. We talked it over and J decided that to ‘experience independence’ he needed to be able to operate somewhere separate from me. He enjoys trolling the _entire internet_ with his club. Well, three clubs. He also decided to try online gaming. Those MMO type ones. Also, The Sims and a few other virtual reality games." 

Bruce seemed like he couldn't process it either. "Does that work for you both?" 

"I guess so. He's happy taking over the known universe through the internet, meeting new people and becoming an omniscient entity of sass. He tells me that he's made a friend with some guy named Phil, so that's something. JARVIS could also hear us talking through someone’s phone right now, if he so wished. He’s literally the biggest security threat, but I can’t bring myself to care, mostly because I don't feel like my skin is too tight for me anymore." 

"That's always a good thing." Bruce drawled.  

"You betcha, Brucie-kins." 

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, filled with chatter from the people around them. There was some sort of sports game playing on a small television screen where a few of the patrons were gathered. There was some drunken singing, so Tony figured their team was winning. 

"What kind of clubs did he join?" Bruce asked. 

"The first one is this hacking-slash-conspiracy group. J figures he can try and manipulate them into doing some research and other things for him. Like taking over the world, probably. I attended one of their hacking crusades, and they're pretty good. I think I might need to hunt some of them down and get them to work for me."

"Because that's not dangerous at all," Bruce quipped. "Not in the slightest."

"The second club is more of an online therapy group, to be honest."

"Really?" Bruce frowned. "He joined a therapy group? Did you ask him to do that?"

"Of course I didn't, Bruce. I refuse to join one myself, how hypocritical would that be?" Tony replied, taking a swig of his fancy apple juice that he'd brought with him. James had brought some to the park one day and Tony loved it.

"Has he told you anything about it?"

"Only bits and pieces. I haven't sat in on any of those meetings. I don't want to mess with any progress he's made." Tony shrugged. "He's told me that he hasn't spoken up about his own reasons for being there yet, but he has contributed to other conversations in the group. That's where he met his new friend Phil, you see."

"Does he call Phil by his first name?"

"No, only by his title. When I asked for a name he said Phil."

"What's his title?"

"Agent. I have no idea what he's an agent for, but as long as JARVIS likes him..." Tony shrugged.

Bruce shook his head slightly. "I guess that's someone else you'll need to look out for."

"I don't know who he is Bruce. I'm probably never going to. JARVIS has done the same thing the opposite way. Phil only knows me as Tony."

"Is JARVIS calling you Tony with him?"

“Not at all. He’s informed me that he’s still going to call me Sir. He calls me Sir when he's talking to Phil, and told me one day that Phil asked for an actual name. J only gave him my first. Apparently Phil wanted a name that wasn't 'sir'. I think Phil might be ex-army or something from what J's told me about him.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes. I might have also had a text-chat with him once, just to know him a little."

"Tony..." Bruce scolded.

"What? I had to know if he was alright for my baby."

Bruce rolled his eyes. He scratched at an eyebrow and rubbed his hand over his face. "Are you okay with him calling you sir, still?"

"I think so. We had a conversation about nicknames a while back, and he’s decided that calling me 'Sir' is a ‘formal nickname’.” Tony said with finger quotes and a roll of his eyes.

“Do you think he’ll ever work his way up to first names?” Bruce asked curiously.

Tony shrugged. “Not any time soon. I asked him to try with James the other day. It was a very awkward fifteen minutes. I think we were all relieved when I told him he could go back to titles and last names. Hopefully one day we’ll be at that stage, but not yet.”

“Maybe you should start him off with last names without their titles?”

Tony briefly pointed at his friend. “That is an excellent idea, Doctor Banner. I’ll mention it to him.”

Tony then cleared his throat and continued with their previous conversation. "Anyway, along with the anonymous therapy group, he's told me that it's incredibly therapeutic to 'charitably deliver' ugly pictures of me to the internet through Instagram."

"He would have a lot of photos of you," 

"Ha ha, shut up." Tony muttered as he lightly pushed at Bruce. Bruce just gave him a sardonic smile. Tony gave up and continued speaking. "The last group is this club devoted to machinery. I'm talking guns, cars, bikes, washing machines—if it's machinery, they want to talk about it. I sat in on one of their e-meetings once, anonymously. They are very passionate, to say the least. J likes how accepting they are of robots as a whole. He gets into some pretty heated discussions about Asimov's robotics laws." 

"I'm really impressed with how far he's come in a month," Bruce tells him. 

"Don't get me wrong, there are some bad days." Tony replies, shaking his head. "He refused to let me into the 'shop the other day because he thought I was being too irresponsible with my life concerning him." 

"As I said at the beginning of all this; give it time." 

Tony nodded, fiddling with his apple juice. "I know, I know."

They settled into another short silence that Tony broke. "I'm not going to pick up a woman here, am I?"  

"No, but I thought you could use the atmosphere." Bruce replied, taking a drink from his water. (He had tried some of the apple juice at Tony's prodding, and hated it. Bruce clearly didn't know what good drinks were.)

Tony shook his head. "Honestly. I should just commit myself to JARVIS the way he's decided to commit himself to me." 

"I wonder how that would work..." 

"Beats me." Tony shrugged. "I'm sure we'd make it work, somehow."  

***

"James, I'm serious. J told me he played nature sounds through the speakers all day in honor of endangered animals. Nothing is sacred." Tony told James as they walked to their tree.

James just laughed harder. "Your AI hacked the White House and played nature sounds all day?"  

"Yes. The worst part is I'm not even all that concerned about it." 

"Let J have his fun. He managed to hack the White House and no one found out. I mean, you only found out because he told you. That's awesome." 

"Of course you'd think that. J will kill us all one day." 

"At the very least he'd be Big Brother." 

"1984. Good novel."  

"If you say so," 

"You brought it up." Tony defended. 

"That don't mean that I like it."  

"Sure it does—" Tony cut himself off and stumbled sideways as his legs were trapped in a hug by a small child.  

James and Tony looked at the child, but the kid just hugged Tony's legs tighter and started shaking. Tony looked to James for help, but he just shrugged and looked concerned.  

Tony slowly crouched down to the kid's level. "Hey,"  

The child sniffled and moved their hug to around Tony's waist, almost knocking Tony off balance. They were shaking like a leaf.  

"Whoa there, kid, let's calm down for a sec, yeah? Can you breathe with me?"  

The child nodded, but continued to head steadily towards hyperventilation.  

"Alright, ready? Breathe in! Hold it, 2, 3, breath out. And again?"  

The kid slowly started to calm down. Tony was glad, because his shirt was starting to get uncomfortably wet.  

"There we go. All better now?" 

The child looked up at Tony, (revealing feminine features and a heart covered t-shirt) and nodded at him.  

"You're Mister Stark," She said in her high-pitched voice. "I know you." 

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "You sure do."  

She nodded again, more calmly than she did the first time. "My Mom says that I'm not s'posed to talk ta strangers, but I can't find her and I din't know nobody. 'Sept you Mister."  

Tony smiled at the little girl, bemused by her logic. "Well, now that you've found me, I guess we'll have to find your Mom."  

"Yes please, Mister Stark." She wiped at her eyes and rubbed at her nose before she pulled away. "My name's Katie."  

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Katie. Would you like to meet my friend?"  

Katie looked over at James who had been smiling softly at the two. She turned back to Tony and nodded.  

"This is James," Tony started. 

"But you, young princess, you can call me Bucky." James finished. He walked over and crouched down beside Tony; reaching down, he took Katie's hand and kissed the back of it.  

Katie giggled and wiped her hand against her jeans. "I'm not a princess!" 

"Are you sure?" James asked seriously. "You look like one to me. What do you think Tony?" 

Tony regarded the giggling girl in front of them. "I think she’s definitely a princess, Bucky."  

"That settles it then." James said after a split-second pause, and scooped the girl up into his arms. He then placed her legs around his neck and spun her around so she could look in the direction that he was looking. "Princesses ride on horses."  

Katie squealed and grabbed at James' ponytail and forehead. _He really is a horse,_ Tony thought privately, and smiled at the two of them, amused at his own joke. "Forward the light brigade!" 

“What’s your ma’s name?” James asked the little girl behind his head, as they set off.

“Mom.”

Tony coughed to cover a snort and grinned back at James’ amused face. “What do other people call her? What would she tell Bucky and I to call her?”

“Kate’s mom.” Katie shrugged, looking for her mother.

“What’s your last name, sweetheart?” James asked in amusement.

“I’m Katie Bishop, yes I am,” Kate announced in a sing-song voice. “If I can’t do it, no one can!”

Tony didn’t know what to think.

“You have a nice voice, Katie,” James told her. “You’ve got a princesses singing voice, alright.”

“I know.” Katie told him. “Mister Clint tells me that I have the best voice of them all.”

“Mister Clint?” Tony asked, curious.

“Yeah, he teaches me how to shoot things. Mom says that she wants me to be very safe when I’m old like her.”

James looked like he was going to explode from repressed laughter.

“Well, I’m sure you’re the best at that.” Tony told her.

“Uh-huh! I hit the target all the time. Mister Clint says I shoot better than some’a the adults.”

“I bet your ma’s really proud of you, huh?” James said.

“Yeah!” Katie replied emphatically, bouncing a little on James. “We get celebration ice-cream all’a time!”

“Let’s find your ma, yeah? Then you can tell her how you met Tony Stark, I’m sure she’s be proud of you for meeting him first.”

Katie gasped and stared at Tony with wide eyes. “Yes.”

The three of them walked around the park calling for Katie's mother. They found her calling for Katie near the swings. The woman was very relieved to see her daughter.  

"Momma, look!" Katie cried as they came closer. "I'm riding a horse! And I met Mister Stark, too!"  

"I can see, baby." The woman replied, relief evident in her voice.  

"She found us over near the other end of the park," James told the woman with a wry amusement. 

"Kate!" The woman scolded. "What were you doing over there? I was so worried!" 

"I lost you Momma, and I couldn't see you, but I didn't know nobody, but then I found Mister Stark and his Bucky. I knewed Mister Stark from the TV!" 

The woman looked extremely tired in that moment. "Of course you did dear. Thank you both," she added, looking at James and Tony 

"It was no problem. Katie's a sweetheart." Tony shrugged. "Prettiest princess around, too."  

Katie blushed and tried to hide behind James' head. "Thank you Mister Stark."  

Tony smiled at her and turned to her mother. “I’m sorry to ask this, but could you not mention that I was here? Or at least not mention J-Bucky? The world doesn’t know about our friendship yet, and I’d like to keep this out of the media. If you could get Katie to do the same...?”

“Oh, of course! I can do that for you.”

“My Momma can do anything!” Katie announced from her perch. "And so can I!"

James chuckled and pulled the girl down. "You stay with your Ma now, okay?" 

"Yes Bucky!" 

James placed her on the ground and smiled at the way that she ran to her mother. The woman hugged Katie close and the two waved goodbye as they walked away from Tony and James.  

"What an adorable kid." Tony commented.  

James was silent, watching the two leave.  

"James?" 

"You called me Bucky." 

"Yeah, that's what you told her to call you. Continuity, James."  

"It was weird."  

Tony narrowed his eyes at his friend. "It's almost like I call you by a different name, or something." 

James huffed and gave Tony a light shove. "Whatever." 

Tony grinned. "You're the one freaking out about it," 

James just rolled his eyes and shook his head.  

"C'mon, I'm bored. Let's go take over the swing set." Tony proposed.

"First the swing set, then the playground, right?" 

"Of course! We can't do these things by halves, Jimmy."  

"Don't you dare." 

***

Tony woke up feeling like he was forgetting something important. "J. Is today important?" 

"The date today is the eighth of October." 

That was  _definitely_  familiar. Tony sat up and pondered the date. October meant eight. Eighth of the eighth that was actually the _tenth_ because of _reasons_.

That's right! Tony face palmed. It was Rhodey's birthday.  

"How early is it? Do you think Rhodey could accept a call?" 

"You can but try, Sir." 

Tony groaned and pushed himself out of bed. He picked up his phone and checked the time. 9:10 am. It would be 6:40 pm for Rhodey. That would be an acceptable time to call, right? 

Tony stopped thinking about it and called, putting the phone on speaker so that he wouldn’t have to hold it. He sat back on the bed and ran a hand through his hair. It came back smudged with grease and something vaguely green. Tony hummed to himself and resolved to take a shower.

The phone rang a few times before Rhodey answered. "Tones?" 

"Platypus! I didn't think that you'd answer."  

Rhodey chuckled. "I think I should be allowed to take calls on my birthday." 

"You'd think that, but the military bigwigs are dicks." 

"Uh huh," Rhodey huffed amusedly.  

"How's your thing going by the way? I didn't want to call in case I interrupted anything." 

"That's okay Tones. They pull me out for things at all times of the day – yeah, keep walking." Rhodey said to someone else where he was. There was a pause for a moment before Rhodey started talking again. "I think it's going fine. I haven't crashed, and they've already sent me over active war zones." 

"What? Honey bunches, that doesn't sound legal. Training courses are definitely not allowed to be held in active war zones. I swear I read that somewhere," 

"Oh, no, they put me back on a probationary active duty. I thought I told you." 

"Uh, no. Is that a good thing?"  

"Yeah. That means I'll make it back to full flying status eventually." 

"Good on you then, Rhodey-bear."  

"And how's your pasty white ass been?" 

Tony huffed. "Same old. Oh, no, we found out that J is entirely sentient."  

"Wow. That's really impressive Tones." 

"Mm, just wait till you find out that he's taking over the known universe." 

"I thought he did that anyway," 

"Well, now it's worse. J is a menace." 

"I had a good example, Sir." 

"Ooh," Rhodes laughed through the phone. "Shots fired." 

"Shut up Rhodey."  

Rhodey just laughed harder.  

"Rhodes! Meeting in ten minutes!" Tony heard through the phone.  

"You gotta go?" Tony asks him. "You can't skip? It is your birthday." 

"Nah, not this one. Stay sane Tones. And JARVIS, you keep an eye on him okay?"  

"Of course, Colonel Rhodes," 

"Happy birthday Rhodey!" 

The phone clicked.  

"He is entirely too responsible," Tony announced, flopping back on the bed.  

"If only you were, Sir."  

"That's rude J. I'm offended." 

"Shall I make a note of it Sir?" 

"So rude." 

***

"And that's why in Australia they call Burger King 'Hungry Jack's'."  

"That's so stupid." James replied. "Australians are weird." 

"I think it's the environment they live in. I'd be weird too if I continuously feared for my life." 

"Speaking of 'fear'," James said, rolling onto his stomach to look at Tony better. "What are we doing for Halloween?" 

Tony made a face. "Do we have to?" 

"Yeah, we do." James replied in mock sympathy.

"I haven't done Halloween in years," 

"That's blasphemy, Tony." James said in a voice that was dead serious.  

"It's an excuse for eating excessive amounts of sugar, dressing up and drinking. I gave up drinking, I'm really not a fan of dressing up and—" 

"You could use some excessive amounts of sugar." James finished for him, poking him in the ribs. "There's nothing to you."  

"I'll have you know that this is all muscle," 

James flexed his arm. "Go on, show us your guns." 

"No. This is an unfair playing field and I forfeit." 

James chuckled and stared at Tony.  

Tony stared back. "What?"  

"You're a dork." 

"Shut up." 

***

Tony didn't know how he came to be in this situation. "How did I get here?" 

“By car. You drove, so if you don’t remember that, I’ll be concerned.” James shrugged. He shuffled a bit awkwardly, his body stiff, and wasn’t blinking as often as he should.

Tony glared at him. “How did I get in this situation, James. Why am I at a Halloween party?”

"Well," James answered him, "I have excellent persuasion skills," 

Tony turned to fully face James, entirely unimpressed. James was dressed as a pirate, complete with a missing arm. Tony had argued for Steve’s marvelously glorious suit that made James look like a model. James had argued against it, saying something about clumsy friends and the possibility of destroying the suit. Tony had caved. That suit was far too good for this world, and if it was destroyed Tony would go into mourning. No lie.

Tony was dressed as a cat, complete with moving tail and ears.  Tony hated it.

"I need better friends." 

"Don't be that way," James scolded him, shuffling again. "Let's go have fun." 

"Who are these people, anyway?" Tony grumbled as James opened the door. 

"Some of my other friends, Tones. Don't you want to meet them?" 

"Not dressed like a cat." 

"It's not my fault that this is the only costume that you own." 

"No, but it is your fault that these were the only clothes I had access to." Tony snapped back.  

James grinned, unrepentant, looking completely calm for the first time that evening. "J helped." 

"Of course he did." Tony muttered. He'd already suspected that.

"Come on Tony. Meet my friends?" 

Tony huffed and stared into the entry way. He couldn't see anyone, and he could only faintly hear music coming from deeper into the house. Tony sighed and walked in.  

"This is blackmail, you know." He commented as he briefly looked around. 

"Not yet, but it will be." 

"Mm, now I  _really_  want to go in." 

James chuckled and took his hand. "Come on." 

Tony still didn't want to go in, but James' grip on his hand was firm and strangely warm. It made him feel both comforted and wrong footed, like he was missing something. In the next room a cheer went up. 

James suddenly pulled his hand away and stopped moving. Tony twitched from the sudden movement. 

"James?"  

James was staring at the ground, his remaining had opening and closing slowly.  

"I..." 

James looked up and Tony spotted confusion and fear. Tony hated that he’d been expecting something like this all night. James had been twitchy and uncomfortable since he’d removed his arm. Tony was also starting to wonder if the pirate costume had been someone else's idea.

"Hey, you're okay," Tony told him quietly. "Tell me where we are." 

"Th-" James started, but cut himself off. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before swapping to ASL. He finger spelled Thor (whatever that was) and then made the signs for lightning and house to the best of his ability with one hand. Tony was pleased with his own ability to be able to make out the words, even if he didn't understand what they meant, exactly. Lightning house?  

"Good, and why are we here?" 

James calmed further and rolled his shoulders back before covering his face with his hand and then moving it to the side of his head, then repeating the movement.  

"I don't know that one yet, but I'm going to guess you _don't_ mean peek-a-boo — oh, Halloween?" 

James shrugged, but nodded with a small smile.  

"Alright. You want to tell me what spooked you?" 

James shuffled a little awkwardly. I'm the next room the music was turned up higher and another cheer went around. James twitched and pointed. Then he made a so-so movement with his hand. 

"The noise? No, the shouting. We can still go to mine and watch movies." Tony offered.  

James shook his head and closed his eyes. Tony kept quiet as James breathed for a moment.  

"I'm okay," James managed eventually. His voice was raspy and each word sounded like it had been forced out. "I f-forget how they-they get."  

He breathed for another bit and Tony lay a hand on his shoulder. "Are we going in?" 

James nodded and gave him a shaky smile. Tony smiled back and opened the door to the room with all the noise.  

They were immediately surrounded by people.  

"Bucky!" They seemed to all call collectively.  

Tony was very happy to see Steve approach. He was grinning from ear to ear and was dressed as… something. Tony couldn't tell. It was skin-tight and most of the women and some of the men stared at him as he went by.  

"Hey Tony! I see Bucky finally managed to convince you." 

"If by convince you mean manipulate, then yeah, I guess so." 

Steve just laughed, the bastard.  

A hand grabbed his costume near Tony's lower back, and he turned to see James. His eyes were darting around, and his smile had slipped. "You wanna introduce me to your friends James?" 

James' attention swung back to Tony and he nodded, giving Tony a twitch of a smile. It morphed into something more playful and real. "This is Steve."  

Tony have him a deadpan look. He turned to Steve. "Nice to meet you. You look awfully familiar, you know. You haven’t eaten frog spawn at the park once, have you?" 

Steve spluttered and glared at James, who grinned back. "Bucky, you weren't supposed to tell anyone!" 

"We all know now, Steve." A nearby woman smoothly interjected. "You will be teased mercilessly." 

"Maria, no," Steve whined. 

Maria just smirked. She turned to Tony and held out a hand. "Maria Hill," 

"Tony," He replied, taking the hand and shaking it twice. He let her go and subtly wiped off the sticky residue that had come from her hand. 

"No last name?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.  

"I'm sure you could guess."  

"Stark. You won't be able to hide it from everybody." 

"I didn't think so." Tony sighed. "But it would be nice to not be harassed by the media, and I'm sure James would like to avoid that too."

Maria smirked again and left.  

"Test one done." Steve told him.  

"Test?" 

James nodded. "Between her, Phil and Natalia they screen all new comers." Tony was pleased to note that his voice was sounding smoother.  

"She had something on her hand, I'm guessing. That's her favorite."  

"Yeah, but I wasn't going to point it out." Tony told them. 

"You weren't supposed to." Steve shrugged. "It's a weird test. Telling you that she knew who you were was also part of the test, to see how you'd react." 

Tony sighed. He was in for a long night.  

***

Tony sighed again as he helped James take off his saturated shirt. The Halloween party had progressively deteriorated as the night continued; the consequence of many drinks and good company. Tony had met Natasha (who, for whatever reason, James called Natalia) and Phil (why did he seem so familiar?), and was suitably scared of both. James told him that he'd passed their tests though, so there's that.

Tony also met Sam, an ex-military man like Steve and James; Thor, whose real name was Don (but Thor suited him much better); Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg and Sif, Thor's ‘mighty warrior’ friends; Jane and Darcy, Thor's girlfriend and girlfriend assistant; Loki, Thor's little brother, who owned the house with Thor (Tony was 60% sure his name wasn't actually Loki); some guy named Scott; twins who told him all about their hatred for Stark Industries (awkward); and Clint. Of course, Tony already knew Clint and quietly apologized for outing his relationship with Bruce to James. Clint, who was absolutely sloshed at that point, spilled his drink all over James as he tried to reassure Tony.  

Sometime during the night he’d also been relieved of the cat ears and tail, leaving him in a plain black outfit with a white belly.

It was an experience and a half to say the least.  

James was giving Tony sheepish/mortified looks for needing help to get out of the shirt. The wet parts had practically glued themselves to his body and he got caught in the middle of it and almost panicked. Tony had pulled him aside and led him to a spare room to free him from his trap.  

"Well, you still look like a pirate without the shirt." Tony shrugged.  

"I can't go out in public like this." James told him. He was standing stiffly and his hand was twitching.  

"It's alright, you look fine." 

"No, Tony, I  _can't_." He was getting a little worked up. "It's—I can't." 

"Why? You're literally the third buffest guy I know after Steve and your pal Thor. Even then, third seems too low." 

"I  _don't have an arm_  Tony."  

"Oh." That hadn't occurred to him. "It looks fine. Chicks dig scars."  

James looked a little poleaxed.  

"Look, if you don't like it I can make you a shrug out of my shirt." James was nodding before he'd even processed the question, Tony could tell. "Or you could borrow one of Thor's shirts. You might swim in it, but it would cover more than my shirt would." 

"Yeah, yes. Please Tones." 

"I'll go find Thor." 

"I'm sorry you had to see them." James muttered before Tony left the room. 

"What?" 

James looked up, startled. "Nothing." 

"James, your scars are fine. They're proof that you survived." 

James was shaking his head, accidentally shaking his hair-tie loose. He ignored the hair that pooled around his face. "They're ugly."  

James' scars branched from his missing arm to the other side of his chest. There were other scars littered across his torso in addition to the larger scars caused by the removal of the arm. James had unconsciously started to cover them with his right arm.  

"They really aren't. James, I promise you." Tony could tell that James didn't believe him. He sighed and started pulling his shirt off. Usually he hated showing his Reactor to others, but James needed to see. 

"Tony?" 

Tony dropped the shirt on the ground and pulled off his undershirt too, revealing the Arc Reactor in his chest. Tony had assumed (correctly) that JARVIS had convinced James to leave him two shirts at the beginning of the night.

Tony struggled to go anywhere without two shirts after Obadiah.

They stood silently for a moment. Tony reached up and pulled off the opaque outer casing and let the blue light shine. James was enthralled. 

"This," Tony started to explain, waving his hand about, searching for the words, "Arc Reactor. It's a gift from my time in a semi-active war zone. It keeps me alive." 

"Tony..." James breathed. 

"To get it there I needed to have a whole chunk of my chest removed. It. Uh." Tony stopped to take a few shallow breaths. He'd been breathing too deeply in his anxiety and his chest was starting to ache. It was an ever-present ache, but Tony could usually filter it out. Focusing on it brought the ache to the front of his mind. He gently traced one of the longer scars that branched from the Reactor. "It's not fun. Lots of scarring." 

Tony started when a hand entered his field of vision. James pulled it back and seemed to snap out of his daze.  

 _"It'sbeautiful."_ He blurted.  

Tony snorted. "I guess," 

"May I?" James gestured to it.  

Tony paused to evaluate his fear/anxiety levels and whether it was worth it to potentially skyrocket in both to reassure James. "Sure," 

James lightly stroked the surface. Tony relaxed. James was nothing like Obie.

James traced the lines on the surface, then trailed his fingers down to the base, where the metal entered his chest. Tony tried not to squirm as James brushed his fingers along the scarring that branched from the arc in every direction. James looked up and caught Tony's eye. 

"Tones—" 

"—Yeah, in—oh. Uh, sorry man."  

Tony and James jumped apart. Tony turned his chest away from the intruder and quickly put his undershirt back on. 

"It. Um. Sam?" James stuttered quietly.  

"Sorry, Steve just wanted to know where you went. I'll let him know." The door shut. 

Tony was trying to not hyperventilate. James seemed to be having the same problem.  

"S-sorr—" James tried. 

Tony shook his head. "No, nah, 's fine. Wasn't your fault." His voice was absolutely  _not_  shaking.  

James _was_ shaking.  

"Whoa, James, really, it's fine. We're fine." Tony didn't sound very reassuring with a quivering voice.  

James shook his head and crumpled to the ground in a crouch. His hand grabbed at his loose hair and started pulling.  

"James! Hey, no, we're fine! Don't—" 

James made a keening noise and started rocking. Tony made a snap decision. He fell to his knees and wrapped James in a hug. His hands were shaking, but that was okay.  

"Sam gave us a bit of a startle, huh?" Tony whispered into James' hair, brushing a hand along James' skin, feeling the scars and allowing a touch of righteous anger to take away his fear.

James paused his shaking suddenly. Tony pulled back, only to be pulled back in by James' hand.  

"James?" 

James brushed his hand up and down Tony's back, from his nape to his lower back. His head fell to Tony's shoulder and he pitched forward onto his shins, his legs bracketing Tony's. The hand on his back made a starburst movement, then a wagging one. Confused, Tony decided to wait for James to explain. He tentatively started to brush his hand through James' hair. The gentle sigh let Tony know that it was okay. 

It was a while before James let him go. 

He sat back on his legs and stared at the ceiling before turning to Tony. He gave a shaky smile and hovered his hand over the arc. Tony blinked, and understood the movements that James had made.

Bright blue.

Tony hadn't put the cover back on it and the light shined through his undershirt.  

Tony returned the smile. "Let's find you a shirt and go home, yeah?" 

James agreed.  


	6. This is Halloween (Reprise)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deals heavily with themes of suicide. Just a quick warning.

"Last night you said Thor was lightning. Why?" Tony asked as he leaned against their tree, tossing a small apple between his hands. He’d liked the apple juice; wouldn’t apples be the same?

 James was sitting nearby, looking up at the leaves. "It's easier than finger spelling Thor all the time."  

Tony nodded and took a bite from his apple. "Wha' d'you call Scht've?"  

James sent him an amused look. He double tapped his shoulder with a rounded hand. "Captain."  

Tony nodded. "What would I be?"  

James smirked and signed 'bright blue' at him.  

Tony rolled his eyes. "Efficient."

He took another bite. It was absolutely not the same. The apple juice was so much better than the original organics.

"I don't know Tones. I'll let you know when I figure out one that fits." 

"You should make one for JARVIS too." 

James huffed. "I will." 

"Goo'," Tony mumbled around a mouthful of apple. He finished it off and aimed it at the closest bin. 

"5 bucks you miss." James bet. 

"You're on." Tony threw the apple core. It soared, but the bin was too far. "Damn." 

"There are children here, Tony! What would Steve say?" James said, dramatically clutching at his chest.  

"Yeah, yeah." Tony grumbled as he got up. "Steve's a saint." 

"Nah, not yet. He's Catholic though, so he’s closer than I’ll ever be." 

Tony made an interested noise as he got up to throw his apple core in the bin. "Is he really?" 

"Yeah. Not as much now, but we would be there twice a week when we were kids. I don't know why I had to go, I'm not Catholic. It was just awkward." 

Tony snorted. "The benefits of being the best friend."  

Tony sat back down against the tree and sighed happily.  

"Are you religious?" James asked. 

"Not really. Christmas and Easter, I might go sometimes. Mostly no, though. You?" 

"My Ma tried to get me to. The only time I'd happily enter a church was if Stevie was dyin' and the priest was gonna help 'im."  

"Oh yeah, you told me he was sickly. That bad?" 

"Yeah. If his Ma wasn't a nurse he wouldn't be here." 

"It's hard to imagine." 

"What'd you say the first time? Muscles as big as your head?" James laughed.  

"Yeah, shut up." 

James poked his tongue out.  

"Mature."  

Tony's phone started ringing. James looked toward the sound. "You better get it. Maybe JARVIS’ group got caught hacking this time." 

"As if." Tony replied as he answered the call. "Hello?" 

"Tony?"  

"Bruce? What's up?" Tony's brow furrowed and he shot James a concerned look. Bruce hadn't sounded this unstable since Ross.  

"I, um. Never mind. Sorry I, uh, called." 

"Don't you hang up on me Banner!" 

"No, Tony, this was a mistake." 

"I'm coming over, and I'm putting you on speakerphone. Don't you dare hang up." Tony put it on speakerphone and sent James an apologetic look. "Still there Bruce?"  

"Yeah..." 

James sent him a concerned look back. The two of them had met a few times before, just enough for James to know that Bruce was not entirely stable. James shoo'ed him away. Tony nodded and signed ‘thank you’ at him before turning and running for SI.

"Where are you right now?" Tony asked, trying to not sound like he was running.

"Home. Bathroom." 

"Whoa, hey now. How about we go to the living room or the bedroom? Those are much nicer places. Lots of natural light." 

"I don't..." 

"Bruce. Don't do this to yourself. It'll all be easier on the couch." Tony finally arrived and jumped in his car, setting the phone down in the cup holders.  

"I. I don't think—" 

"Nope!" Tony interrupted, driving off. "The problem is that you're thinking too much." 

"I don't have the energy to move." Bruce admitted in a rush.  

"Brucie-pie, please tell me that there aren't razors or knives." 

"... I can, I can see the razors, and I—" 

"Okay, this is why we need to go to the lounge. We don't want that temptation."  

"I don't—" 

"There is too much negativity in this conversation. What if you could?" 

"Tony..." Bruce sounded wrecked.  

"Okay. So, start at the beginning. If you can't move, tell me what's going on. When I get there I'll move you myself."  

Bruce sighed. It was bone deep and weary. "My research was cut. The faculty that I work in had budget cuts too. I'm on the brink of unemployment. Betty broke up with me. Clint's unconscious in my kitchen. I think I forgot to tip the guy that brought me tea yesterday—" 

"Bruce," Tony gently chided. "The tea guy and Clint will be fine. Why didn't you wake Clint when you stared spiraling?"  

"He wouldn't. I'm really concerned about it. What if he was concussed? Is my boyfriend dead in my kitchen? Good Lord, Tony—" 

"Hey, I'm pulling in your driveway now. Clint's fine, you'll see. I'll wake him and send him home." Tony told him as he got out of the car and jogged to the front door. "Unless you want him here?" 

"No!" Bruce shouted. The sound of something falling to the ground followed. "No, Tony, please." 

"What was that Bruce? What fell?" 

"Nothing." Bruce replied, too quick. 

"Bruce. Don't you dare. It'll be fine, I promise." Tony marched in the house after pulling out his spare key to the house and unlocking the door, ignoring Clint for the moment, he bounded upstairs.  

He burst into the bathroom and had to let out a shaky breath at the sight of Bruce curled up on the floor holding on to a razor. "Bruce." 

Bruce stared up at Tony with sad, scared eyes. "Tony,"  

Tony walked in and knelt before Bruce. He put his hand on his friend's jaw and tilted his head up with his thumb so he couldn't see the blade. Tony maintained eye contact as he gently took the razor from Bruce's shaking hands. He stuck it in his pocket, for lack of a better idea, and moved that hand to cup the other side of Bruce's face. Twin tears fell as Bruce let Tony take over. Tony brushed them away softly.  

"Come with me to the couch?" Tony whispered.  

Bruce's right hand jerked up to hold Tony's wrist. It wasn't a hard grip, but it was the answer Tony needed. Tony gave him a sad smile and shifted so he could lift Bruce up. Bruce stumbled into him and gripped at his biceps and hid his face in Tony's neck.  

"Shh, shh, we're alright." Tony mumbled, keeping Bruce upright. "Can you walk?" 

A minute shake of the head and Bruce was being carried by Tony.

"Natural light. The couch is a much happier place Brucie-boo." 

Bruce said nothing and held onto Tony tighter. Tony tried to not worry about it too much. 

They reached the couch, and Tony gently set Bruce down. When Tony tried to pull away, Bruce made a soft whining noise and refused to let go.  

Tony let Bruce pull him in closer, and knelt on the floor to accommodate. "Hey, Bruce. You're okay. We'll talk this through, it'll be alright, you'll see. But first you gotta let me go. I haven't checked in Clint yet. It'll be one less thing to worry about." 

Bruce shuddered. "Will you come back?" 

Tony tried to not let his heart shatter. "Always Bruce. I'll always come back for you." 

Bruce let out a few shaky breaths and scrunched up his face before he managed to let go. Tony stayed for a few seconds longer and brushed Bruce's hair from his face. "I'll be back, okay?" 

Bruce nodded, eyes and mouth still tightly closed. Tony pressed a kiss to his forehead and quickly walked to the kitchen, ignoring Bruce's cut off whine.  

Half of Clint was sprawled on the kitchen table while the rest of him was on his seat. Tony couldn't tell if the guy was breathing, much like Bruce. He could understand why Bruce was worried.

Tony went to approach the man, but remembered at the last second the razor in his pocket. He pulled it out from his pocket and threw it on the bench, telling himself to deal with it later. He then felt ready and approached the unconscious man on Bruce’s table.

"Clint." Nothing.  

Tony gathered his courage and placed his fingers on Clint's neck, where the pulse is generally found. Tony didn't find a pulse, but Clint snorted and tried to shuffle away from his hand, so Tony was going with a tentative prognosis of 'alive'.  

Tony breathed out a sigh of relief. He rubbed at his eyes, then lightly slapped Clint across the face. Clint jumped upright with a startled cry. Tony also heard Bruce whimper at the noise, and felt a twinge of guilt.  

"You need to go home buddy." Tony told him firmly. "Can't be sleeping here all day." 

"Ow... Tony?" Clint blinked up at him, nursing his face with one hand and blocking the light with the other.  

"Yeah. Go home Clint. Sleep off your hangover there."  

“Go where?” Clint said, squinting at him. He was speaking a touch too loud, which Tony thought was rather strange.

“Home, Clint. Go home.”

"Oh, home. I thought this was where I lived. Isn't it?" 

"This is Bruce's place." 

“Whose?”

“Bruce’s, Clint. This is Bruce’s house.”

"Oose, ooses… Bruce’s?"  

“Yes?” Tony was concerned for this man.

“Oh.”

"You need to go home." 

"I, yeah, okay. Is Bruce not here?" Clint pushed himself up, and stumbled out of the chair. Tony caught him before he hit the ground.  

"Ugh. I feel gross." Clint slurred loudly into Tony’s arms.

"Can you call a taxi?" 

Clint ignored him.

"Why do I have to leave so bad?" He asked soon after, turning to face Tony slowly. His voice had fluctuated to a lower register. Tony hoped that he didn’t need to be concerned about that too.

Tony paused before he replied, and managed to get Clint standing of his own violation. "Bruce needed help with something. He also asked me to get you home." 

"Oh." Clint replied. He went pale, and swayed a bit. "I'll call a cab or Nat, or something."  

"Get home safely." Tony told him, he then moved to the bench and scribbled down a note to Natasha. In the note, he asked her to get James to explain to Clint what was happening after Clint was feeling less miserable. Tony pulled out his wallet, and handed Clint a couple of fifties and the note. "Use one of these. You live with Natasha, right? Give her the note and the rest of the money, okay?" 

Tony was not bribing Natasha into delivering messages for him. Absolutely not.

Clint didn’t reply, a hand over his eyes.  Tony sighed. He poked Clint. "You have your phone?"  

"Yeah." Clint held it up.  

Tony nodded, and steered Clint towards the door.  

"Bye then."  

"Yeah, you too."  

Tony shut the front door after Clint was out. Tony sighed at it and lay his head against it briefly. He hated emotional talks. He quickly asked JARVIS to relay his message to Clint’s phone, and Natasha’s as well, in case Clint lost his phone.

"Your boy's fine, Brucie." Tony told his friend as he walked back in the lounge room.  

"Thanks Tony," Bruce whispered back. He was curled up tightly at the end of the couch and his eyes were still shut. At least he was talking though.  

Tony sat beside the ball of angst and let the silence settle. Having been friends with Bruce for so long, Tony generally knew when to push and when he needed to back off. Tony enjoyed pushing, but right now, he knew he needed to wait for Bruce.  

Tony was rewarded for his silence when Bruce tipped himself over so that he was half laying, half leaning on Tony. Tony responded by removing Bruce's glasses and wrapping the man up in his arms. The silence continued. If Tony was to break the silence Bruce would never let all his worries out. He'd leave some out of the explanation and they'd fester. It was bad when Bruce's concerns ate away at him. They tended to push Bruce to the edge, and then things like razors would come into play. Tony hated that. There was always a chance that it would be too late, or that Bruce wouldn't call and Tony would find out by breaking into his house. It had almost happened before. Tony had nightmares about it.

"A month ago, the head of our department came to the offices. They called a meeting and told us all that due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’ budget cuts were going to happen. They promised that we'd all keep our jobs, but our pay might go down. That was fine. I could handle that." Bruce started, breathing in deliberately slow breaths. Tony started to stroke gently up and down Bruce's arm, encouraging the man to continue. 

"They then asked for a few certain people to follow them. I was one. They sat us down and told us that they absolutely could not afford to continue letting us research the things that we'd been researching, and could we please pick something cheaper to consider?" Bruce spat. "Years I've spent on some of that. Shelved. Benched."  

Tony opened his mouth to give a solution, but Bruce cut him off.  

"I went to Betty. I told her what had happened. I guess I expected some sympathy." Bruce scoffed to himself, letting a touch of his self-hatred show. "She told me that it happens, and to keep with it. 

"That was a month ago. You were dealing with JARVIS and all that, I don't really have any other friends besides you. How pathetic. But it was fine. I was dealing. Last night was what sent me down. Betty came over. We'd planned on watching Halloween stuff, maybe some horror movies. Before we could start Betty goes: 'Bruce. You know I love you, don't you?' it was a little weird, because we'd never really done that before. Then she goes on about how we were." Bruce paused to breathe. It was too fast and getting worse. Tony had to intervene. 

"Bruce," Tony whispered. Bruce twitched. "Breathe with me." 

Bruce jerked his head in what Tony suspected was a nod, and they spent some time just breathing, calming down. Once Bruce was using his breathing techniques again, Tony prompted him. "What did she say?" 

Bruce tensed up. "We were sabotaging one another by staying together. She told me how she loved Leonard but he was intimidated by my presence in her life. She kissed me and told me that this was goodbye, but we could try being friends because she wanted to see how far things would go with Leonard. I should have started suspecting things when she asked if we could try seeing other people in our relationship. 

"Then, after she'd left," Bruce plowed on, "Clint stumbled in. I. I thought maybe they'd organized it. To both leave me on the one night. But no, Clint collapsed on my table. I spent the whole night wondering if I'd be greeted with another break up first thing this morning. Then it all became too much. It didn't matter anymore. If Clint left, all I'd have is you and research that I can't use or work on. I figured you'd be okay, you have James and JARVIS now. Rhodey and Pepper too. Maybe more of James' friends. I didn't mean to call. I tripped and the phone fell out of my hand. I must have accidentally phoned you as I fell, because as I went to grab the razor, there was your voice." 

Tony let that hang there as he let it all sink in. He almost lost his friend, but didn't because of a freak accident. Tony hugged Bruce closer. Bruce squirmed a bit, but allowed it. Tony was struggling to rid himself of the image of something that had happened years ago. It was the man in his arms, bleeding out on his bed from deep cuts in his thighs.  

It was a hard task to follow through with.  

"Okay." Tony released shakily. He tried to hide how it shook, but the way Bruce gripped him tighter told him that he'd failed. "Do you want a new job?"  

"...Tony?"  

"I'm being serious. Answer my questions here. Do you want a new job?"  

"Sort of. It angers me that they can bench me like that."  

"Anger's no good for you, Bruce. Especially after Ross." 

Bruce didn't reply.  

"Okay, so I've been wanting to snap you up for SI for years, so let's do that. Welcome to my R&D." 

"What? Tony, no—" 

"Tony yes. I mean it. You're the next stepping stone for SI. Now, that's your research, pay cut and almost unemployment fixed." 

"Tony..." Bruce breathed. The way he said it made Tony feel a little uncomfortable, but he'd get over it.  

"Now for Betty. Her dad literally tried to kill you. He's been campaigning against you from the start and she lived with him for most of that. That's years hearing about how terrifying you are. She doesn't mean to think it, but words have a way of sticking with you if they've been said enough. The cards were against you from the start." 

Bruce was breathing heavily again. Tony let his hand travel upwards and start running through Bruce's curls. Bruce shivered and relaxed a tad.  

"She still loved you, don't get me wrong, but there's always going to be that part of her that listened to her dad." 

Bruce choked out a dry sob. "Why Tony? Why am I never good enough?" 

"Oh, Brucie-baby, you are. You're so good, you're practically overqualified. I know it. You know who else knows it? Clint." 

Bruce shook his head and made another small whining noise.  

"He does too. Did you hear what he said when he woke up?"  

Bruce shook his head again.  

"He thought this was where he lived. He's here so often, he feels safe enough here to come here drunk and pass out on your table. Granted, he has terrible timing, but that's not something that can be helped. It's a curse." 

"Okay." Bruce huffed. 

"Yeah?" 

Bruce nodded. Then he shuffled over so that he was sitting in Tony's lap. He pressed his (slightly wet) face into Tony's neck and clutched at Tony's shirt. Tony resettled into the new position and turned the TV on low.

Bruce was calmer and things weren't so daunting. That meant that he'd fall asleep. 

***

Tony woke up in pain. His chest and neck were aching. His legs felt numb. Tony woke up a little more and remembered that he had a sad lump of scientist curled up in his lap. Bruce was softer in sleep; the most relaxed Tony would ever see him, yet still tenser than usual.

Tony gently moved the sleeping scientist off him and onto the couch. Bruce snuffled a bit, but stayed resting. Tony went to the bathroom to relieve himself and to hide all the razors in Bruce’s house. After doing that, the ball of anxiety that had settled in behind his Arc Reactor eased up a bit. He then set about to make some tea for Bruce and some coffee for himself.

Bruce did have coffee, right?

A quick look at the clock informed him that it was nearly seven p.m. and that they'd slept most of the day away. Tony decided that a call to an Indian food establishment was in order.  

As Tony got off the phone to ' _Benares_ ' there was a knock at the door. Tony poked his head in to see if Bruce had awoken. Bruce was still out cold. Tony sighed and brushed a hand over his face. He opened the door and came face to face with Clint and James.  

"Oh," Tony blinked, surprised at the addition of James.  

Clint shuffled his feet awkwardly. "I’m sorry about this morning, I left my hearing aids at Thor’s and my lip-reading sucks when I have a splitting headache. Is Bruce okay? Bucky told me you got a weird call." 

“That’s fine, Clint, really.” Tony replied. “You have hearing aids? Right, not the time. Yeah, Bruce’s fine. He’s fine. Do you guys want to come in?” 

Clint walked right in and paused in the entry to the living room. He bit his lip and silently disappeared into the room. James stayed by Tony. He placed a hand at his lower back, in a move that was slowly becoming familiar and cleared his throat. "Are you okay?"  

Tony exhaled shakily, and sent James a slightly too sharp smile. "I'll get there. This was a surprise, is all."  

"What _was_ this? I've never heard him like that before." 

Tony swallowed and shook his head. "It's not really mine to tell."  

"That's fine," James reassured him. James then pushed him gently into the house with the hand on his back and shut the door behind them quietly. "You look like you need a hug."  

Tony let out a slightly wet laugh and spun to put his head on James' chest. James wrapped the prosthetic around him first, then overlapped it with his flesh arm. Tony was hit with a wave of safety and calm, and slumped into James a little bit more. James didn't seem to mind that Tony didn't have the strength to lift his arms to return the hug either. James seemed happy to just hold Tony. Tony couldn’t help but wonder how he managed to find such a good friend.

James shifted a little bit above him. "Clint?" He asked softly.  

Clint sniffed and walked over to lean against the wall beside the two of them. Tony turned his head to be able to see the other man, but made no other moves and had no plans of pulling away. Clint looked troubled.

"You've been helping him all day." Clint finally said, looking away from the two of them. "He only sleeps like that when he's stressed."  

"We slept for most of the day,"  

"Doesn't matter. You were here. I was off being hungover."  

Tony sighed. "If you need a hug too, you might as well." 

Clint looked conflicted about it, still refusing to look at the two of them, which cemented the fact that he did need a hug. James pulled him in with his flesh hand. It was a little awkward, but James was good at hugging, and Tony eventually got used to Clint right beside him. Clint rested his forehead against James' shoulder and stared at the ground. Tony watched him for a few moments before tilting his head up to see James. James had a peaceful look on his face, and appeared perfectly fine with hugging/holding up two of his friends at once. James felt Tony's movement and turned to look at him in return. Tony was hit with a surge of fondness and thankfulness for the man that he leaned up and kissed his cheek. Tony settled back into the hug, returning it with one of his arms now, and smiled softly when James pressed his lips to Tony's forehead.  

Clint ruined the moment. "This is really uncomfortable. Hugs are more of a one-on-one thing for me, I think." 

"Clint?" Bruce's sluggish voice called from the room over.  

Clint pulled away from the hug and darted into the lounge. Tony sighed and slumped against James for a moment before standing up again. He took a deep breath before heading to the lounge room as well.  

On the couch, Clint had an arm around Bruce, and Bruce was leaning in to him with ease. The sight warmed something in Tony's chest to see. James caught up to him again and placed his hand on Tony's lower back again. Tony leaned into the touch gratefully.  

"You all good Banner?" Tony asked.  

"I will be." Bruce replied, turning a little to make eye contact with him. "Thank you." 

Tony shifted, uncomfortable with the attention, but James kept him steady.  

"I, uh. I made you tea and ordered Indian."  

Bruce blinked, and gave Tony the biggest smile of the day. "Thank you." 

"Yeah, yeah." Tony shrugged. "You can share with your boy. I need to go home; JARV'll be worried."  

Bruce nodded. Clint piped up behind him. "Thanks Tony. I'll stay here the night."  

Tony nodded his thanks to the man and waved goodbye awkwardly. "If you need anything: call, okay?" 

"Yes, Tony,"  

Tony didn't believe him, but he wished it was the truth. Tony nodded again and walked to the front door. James wasn't far behind him.  

"We came in Clint's car." He said. 

"Are you asking for a lift?" Tony asked him as they walked out the door and to the cars.  

"If you don't mind. I've also got Stevie's permission to stay the night if you want to have a sleepover." James said it so casually, like they had 'sleepovers' all the time, and Tony couldn't help but be grateful for it. He needed someone there tonight. JARVIS was usually fine, but Tony was feeling clingy tonight. He hoped that James would be okay with cuddling while they slept.

"Sounds like a plan.” Tony said, rounding his car, “Solid planning. We’re going to need all the pillows and blankets that I own.”

“Are we building a fort?” James asked excitedly.

Tony was so damn grateful for this man. “Yes. We are going to make the best fort in the world.”


	7. Hey, you

The park was strangely quiet today. There was a distinct lack of screaming children, there weren't many runners/walkers, and the birds were quiet.  

"It's not 'strangely' quiet Tony." James informed him. "It's raining. We're at the park in the rain."  

"Whatever."  

"Let's go to that coffee shop. I'll pay." 

"What if I want to pay?" Tony asked as he stood to go to the coffee place, shaking off some of the rain that had landed on him. 

"You're not allowed to pay for coffee, ever. Not after the prosthetic you gave me." 

Tony shrugged. "You needed a prosthetic." 

"You won't let me pay for it." James reminded him. They strolled through the rain under James’ umbrella. Tony had forgotten his.  

"You don't need to pay for it."  

"I'm indebted to you. I intend to pay it in coffee and ice cream." 

Tony was quiet. "Fine, I guess that's allowed."  

"Thank you." 

The streets were quieter than usual. The traffic was worse than it had any right to be.  

"Hey, Tony, I—" James cut himself off and turned away from Tony.

"What?" Tony asked, slightly concerned.  

"Can we. Can we keep seeing each other?"  

Tony blinked. What did he mean by that? They saw each other all the time, didn't they? Why would they stop suddenly? 

"Yeah, of course."  

James grinned at him and put his arm around Tony's shoulder. Since they only had one umbrella, Tony figured James had been getting wet. It would be uncomfortable to leave his arm in between them, so he wrapped it around James' waist, hoping that the man would be okay with it. James only grinned wider.  

***

Tony dropped his wrench when his mind finally processed what James had actually meant. Was he in a relationship? 

"Sir?" 

Tony blinked and looked around confusedly. How did he manage to miss that? Had he accidentally led James on? 

"Sir?" 

What has he done? He's ruined the only friendship he's made in years, that's what. How did he even manage to misinterpret that?

"Sir!" 

Tony jolted. "J?" 

"Your heart rate spiked and you began staring at the wall. Are you well?" 

"I. I think I might be dating James." Tony informed his AI.  

"You do not want to be dating him, Sir?" 

"I, I don't know. I don't want to have sex with him. Shouldn't that be present? The urge to have sex?"  

"From what I've observed, Sir, you aren't interested in males, so I do not understand why there would be such an urge."  

"Exactly, J, I'm not interested in them at all. This means I've been leading him on, I'm such a dick." Tony groaned dropping his head to the table in front of him, narrowly missing the machinery resting there. 

"Sir, perhaps a phone call is in order?"  

Tony jerked upright. "J, I can't break up with him over the phone, that's rude!"  

A ringing filled the room.  

"J, I'm serious." Tony told him frantically. "I can't do that."  

"Tony?" Pepper's voice came from the speakers. "Is that you?"  

"Pep?" Tony paused and looked at one of JARVIS’ many cameras. "J?" 

"You needed assistance Sir." 

"With what? Tony, are you stuck somewhere? Please don't be dying." 

It hit Tony then, how much he'd let his friendship with Pepper slip because of the break up and his new friendship with James. Except for a few phone calls he hadn’t seen or heard from Pepper in far too long. "I'm not stuck or dying, Pep. There is also nothing on fire."  

"That's good; I was worried. I haven't heard from you in a while,"  

"I know, I've been a terrible friend to you. I'll buy you something nice."  

Pepper laughed. Tony had missed the sound.  

"Why are you calling if you're not stuck or dying?"  

"Um. Well, you see." 

"Tony Stark, what did you do?" 

"I might have accidentally entered into a relationship with a man." 

Tony was going to let that hang there, and be all melodramatic, but DUM-E knocked something over and it toppled with a crash.  

"DUM-E!" He shouted as he ran over to make sure that the bot was okay. "No harm, no foul, not even a scratch, buddy. Be more careful next time, okay?" DUM-E trilled at him and tugged at his shirt.  

"What was that, Tony?" Pepper was still calm. Maybe too calm. Tony was starting to worry.  

"With the crash, or with what I said?" He asked sheepishly, absentmindedly stroking DUM-E's arm. 

"What you said, Tony. You're seeing a man? You're gay?" 

"Yes to the first, no to the second. I'm not gay. I like women too much to be gay."  

"Bisexual then." 

"I don't like men that way at all, Pep. Some of them, like models and the like, I get why people look at them, cause they're hot, but that is the extent of my gayness."  

"But you're still seeing a man."  

"Sort of?" Tony winced. "It was an accident. I'm still not entirely sure that I am dating him."  

"Only you, Tony." Pepper sighed.  

"I don't know what to say, Pep."  

"First, you need to make sure you aren't imagining this relationship. Then, come back and tell me what is going on. I'll start the paperwork." 

Tony sighed. He'd forgotten that his life was practically open to the public. Wait, what if J’s influence had run out? What if there'd been paparazzi at the park? Were there pictures of James with him? 

"I'll go see him." 

"Good. I'll talk to you later, Tony." 

"Bye, Pepper. I'll try to be a better friend." 

Pepper hung up.  

"Ms. Potts appears to be slightly uncomfortable with the knowledge that you might be in a new relationship." JARVIS told him.  

Tony just groaned. He sent DUM-E over to his brother and picked up the wheelie bench that he'd knocked over. It was going to be a long day.  

"First call of business J, let’s search for any errant pictures of James and I. We don't want the press having a field day." 

***

Tony was on his way to the park to meet James when he got a new text from the man. 

_Steve and Sam have decided to tag along. That ok?_  

Tony brushed a hand over his face. That didn't sound good to him. His phone dinged again.  

_Could we go to the coffee place? Sam wants to see it. I'll buy. :)_  

Tony sighed and texted back that it was fine. He'd just have to pull James aside when he gets there and leave. Yeah. Great idea.  

Tony changed direction and started walking to the café.

A guy started walking beside him, close enough to brush shoulders. He had his hands in his pockets and a bandanna around his neck. Tony was kind of uncomfortable with it.  

"Can I help you?"  

"Tony Stark," the man gruffly replied.  

Tony was in trouble.  

The man threw a punch at Tony’s head. Tony tried to dodge or block, but in the attempt to do both, he ended up taking the punch to the gut. Gasping for breath, he tried to use his phone to call JARVIS or James, but he was tackled at the last moment.

"Tony Stark. You created the bombs and guns that terrorized my home. My country is peaceful, and your weapons are killing them all." The man continued, as if he didn’t attack Tony. “My wife and children never knew a life without guns and war.”

He looked at his phone, making sure that he had Tony pinned. He grinned sharply when he received a new message. “There is a car coming. We will take you away and you will learn our pain.”

Tony stayed still, hoping to lure the man into thinking that Tony was helpless. Tony was honestly surprised that he’d gone so long walking around out on the city without being attacked. It had been a good few months. Tony took a breath and moved fast and sudden, flipping him and the attacker into a reversed position. Tony looked around, hoping for help, but no one seemed willing. The cars that were slowly moving passed ignored him, the street was empty of people.

Tony wasn’t quite sure of what he wanted to do.

The attacker pushed Tony off of him and pulled out a knife with a snarl. Tony stumbled back, knowing that he would be bested again if there weren’t any reinforcements. Tony was still trying to catch his breath and was nowhere near prepared for any attempted kidnappings.

"Tony!" James? 

Tony glanced in the direction of the shout and spotted James running with Steve and Sam close behind him.

"James," Tony breathed.  

The attacker took his chance. Tony saw the movement out of the corner of his eye and made an attempt at fleeing.

Tony was preparing himself for pain when he was greeted with the sight of Steve tackling the man to the ground. Tony tried to breathe normally, and looked for where ever James and Sam were.

They still had a bit to go. Tony wondered how fast Steve had to run to have been able to protect Tony.

By the time that the other two arrived, Steve had the man trapped. Sam went to help.

"Tony! Oh, thank—" James chocked out as he stopped by Tony. He tilted his head up at the sky and caught his breath. He grabbed Tony’s face and tilted it from side to side, apparently checking for injuries. He moved on to Tony's torso.  

"Hey, I'm okay." Tony told him airily, still trying to get his breathing to normal.

The guy was shouting on the ground, trying to conquer Steve and Sam. Steve had found some rope, like the boy scout he was, and Sam was tying him up with it.

“He said there was a car coming,” Tony said quickly.

"You bastard."  James snarled at the man.

"James—" 

"Bucky—" 

"No, he attacked my boyfriend and has a _car coming_ to take him away. I should be allowed to rough him up, Steve." 

There was the confirmation. Tony felt his stomach sink into his legs. 

"He's still a civilian, Buck." Steve told him, moving to stand beside him, looking a little conflicted. Tony guessed Steve moved closer so he could hold James back if he went at the guy, but Steve also looked like he wanted to have a go at the man. Sam was calling the police, clearly the most responsible of them.  

"James, it's okay. Nothing happened." 

"No," James agreed, but his face was dark, and very blank. "But it could have."  

Steve moved to stand at James' front and held his face in his hands. "Buck, hey, you need to calm down, Tony's fine. We got here in time."  

Tony moved and paused before he grabbed James' prosthetic hand. "James, it's okay now."  

James trembled and moved sharply to pull Tony into a hug. Tony stumbled, but hesitantly returned it. He was tired. He deserved a hug, right? This wasn't cruel. 

Steve breathed out a sigh of relief. "James, you take Tony home. If the police need him, I'll send them your way."  

James nodded and started to walk, pulling Tony along in his arms. It was strange, and a little uncomfortable, but Tony figured James needed it.  

***

A few hours later found Tony tinkering at his kitchen table while James watched silently. Steve had called to let them know that the police wanted a statement from Tony, which Tony managed to convince them to do over the phone. James hadn't said or signed a word since. Tony was getting worried.  

He sighed and put his machine down. This probably wasn't a good time to do this, but there was no point in fooling James.  

"So. The other day when you asked if we could keep seeing each other, you meant dating right?"  

James sent him a weird look and nodded.  

"Okay." Tony nodded too. "Um. It's just."  

James was looking at him with concern now. "Tony?"  

His voice was raspy.  

"I'm not gay." Tony blurted. "This is a terrible time for this, attempted kidnapping and whatever, and I'm sorry if I lead you on or something, but I'm really not comfortable with being with a guy. I really don't understand how it's even supposed to work. I'm sorry." 

James looked heartbroken. "But—" 

"I'm so sorry. I really thought we were just doing friendshippy things." 

"You kissed me though, and I kissed you." James looked trapped.  

"On the cheek or forehead, yeah." 

"We hug and stuff." 

"I thought maybe you were just touchy-feely with people you know." Tony replied sheepishly.  

James shook his head. He was breathing a little hard. "Just with you." 

"I'm fine with all that, it's. I didn't want the relationship to develop further because I would be totally freaking out when the sex came up."  

"Sex?" James asked. Confusion was adding itself to James expression.

"Yeah. It's like a third of a relationship, isn't it? I wouldn't be able to offer you anything."   

"I don't want sex Tony, I'm asexual." 

Tony paused, because, what?  

"It means I don't particularly want sex. Ever. I've never really understood what people see in each other, or why people are 'hot' or have sex appeal. I don’t care either."  

"I'm confused."  

"I liked you 'cause you were interesting. You were funny, a bit manic at times. Practically from the moment I met you I just wanted to wrap you up in a hug. You're adorable." James explained, with a blush settling in on his face. "All I really wanted from this relationship was to hug you whenever I want. To be able to hold your hand. I've never wanted to just  _hold someone_  before you, Tones."  

"I. Oh," Tony eloquently replied.  

"Actually, we were already doing all the things I wanted in a relationship. I just wanted to make it official because I'm possessive." James admitted, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck, pushing at the pony-tail he was sporting. "Seeing you all the time was making me happy. Steve noticed it, all my other friends did too. My boss did as well. You make me happy." 

"I do?" Tony asked quietly. 

"Yeah." James smiled softly. He looked up and surged forward towards Tony.  

Tony twitched, not knowing what to expect, but James just caught him in a hug. It felt just as safe as it usually did, and Tony couldn't help but relax into it. James' flesh hand moved to grasp gently at the base of his head around his neck and Tony involuntarily leaned into it.  

"I know you don't want a relationship with a guy, and I'll respect that if you do want to break up, but could we give this a shot? It feels right to hold you in my arms."  

Tony almost nodded instinctively. Almost.

"What would staying together mean?" He asked, instead. 

"It means lots of hugs. Cuddling while we watch movies. Holding hands in the park. Surprise massages. We'll be super friends that are affectionate with one another." James murmured into his hair.  

Tony thought about how productive James made him. He thought about the scars that they shared. He thought about how easy it was to fall into James' side and into his life.  

"Okay. Let's try this dating thing."  

Tony felt James smile above him and press a kiss to his hair. "Thank you." 

"No, I should be thanking you." 

"I'd say no, but Steve, Sam and I saved your scrawny ass earlier."  

"That’s rude."  

"You know it." James snickered. Then he paused and pulled away from Tony slightly. "I just realized something." 

"What?"  

James grinned and pulled back. "I have the perfect name for you." He held his hands in front of him, the back of his prosthetic hand facing Tony, and brushed his other along the line made by his prosthetic's fingers to his thumb, then brushed them back out and brought both hands down either side of his body. 

"Partner? Why partner and not boyfriend?" That was weird to say. 

"You'd still understand partner if I don't have the prosthetic on." 

"That's an excellent point." 

James opened his arms for another hug, that Tony fell into easily.

“Please don’t ever get into a situation like that again.” James asked quietly into Tony’s hair. “I was so scared.”

“I was too.” Tony admitted. It hadn’t been the first time that he’d been attacked, but it never became any easier to deal with.

“Promise me that it won’t happen.”

“I can’t,”

James sighed unhappily. “J, please track Tony for me. We need to invent some sort of shield to defend him with for if this ever happens again.”

“I agree with you, Sergeant. I shall start a new project with you as the moderator.” JARVIS replied.

“Perfect.”

“No,” Tony whined. “I’ll never be able to go out in public again,”

“I guess you’ll have to stay in with me instead.” James murmured.

“Your flirting needs work.”

James chuckled. “You’re still my boyfriend. I’ve already caught you with these charms, why would I change them?”

“That’s not how this happened at all.”

“Shh. Let me believe, Tones.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Believe away.” 


	8. This is the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for putting up with my (sometimes) manic-pixie writing, folks!

"Sir, there is a phone call for you."  

Tony jerked awake from where he'd been comfortably sleeping on James. "Whaszzit?"  

"There is a phone call for you,"  

"Oh, okay."  Tony said, and settled back down to continue sleeping.

"Sir, it seems urgent."  

"I don' wanna." 

"Tony, you're wakin' me up." James grumbled.  

"Fine, fine, I'll take the call." Tony rolled unceremoniously off the bed and barely caught himself before he hit the ground.  

James snorted. "Nice one, doll." 

"Shut up." Tony yawned as he exited the room. He set the coffee going before he answered the call. "Hello? Who's calling me at the ass crack of dawn?" 

"Oh,  _Tony_ , praise the lord."  

"Clint?"  

"Yeah. Yeah, it's me. I’ve been trying to get hold of you since yesterday, man." 

"Okay..." Tony said as the coffee finished. He grabbed the ambrosia and set it in front of him. He thought about taking a drink but decided that he had to help Clint first. Friends before caffeine? That’s not a saying… "What's up?" 

"Do you know who Bruce's next-of-kin, is?" 

_"What?”_ Tony panicked. He rubbed at his neck where he’d pulled at something by jerking so suddenly. “What happened, is he okay?" 

"Oh, no, I mean, yeah, he's  _fine_. He's not dying or anything. He hasn't been anywhere close to that since Betty. No, he's sleeping."  

Tony started breathing normally again. Betty had broken up with Bruce many months ago. Bruce was fine. "Wow, I did not need that adrenaline rush."  

"Sorry,"  

"You can make it up to me by telling me _why_ you need Brucie's next-of-kin," 

"Well, I. Um."  

"Spit it out Barton." 

"I want to ask him to marry me." Clint answered quietly, yet honestly. 

Tony sat stunned for a moment. It seemed like they had only started dating recently to him, but no, it'd nearly been two (three? Dates sucked.) years for them. Tony was rather surprised at how fast time had gone.

"Tony?" 

"You want to marry him?"  

"Yes." Clint answered solidly. "I love him."  

Tony nodded, even though Clint couldn't see it. "What does this have to do with the next-of-kin?" 

"I. I wanted, um." Clint mumbled. Tony could almost feel his embarrassment through the phone. "I wanted to get their permission. My Ma always told me that if I was going to marry someone I should get their family's permission first."  

"Bruce has a cousin somewhere, I think. I don't have her number though. I don't think Bruce does either. They lost contact." Tony said, and winced at the dejected feeling he got from the phone. Tony decided to go easy on the guy. "So for all intents and purposes, I guess I would be his next-of-kin, as his dedicated sciencebro. Brothers of science count, right?" 

"Enough for me." Clint informed him happily. "Tony Stark, as the semi-brother of Bruce, may I have your permission to put a ring on it?"  

Tony laughed. "If you didn't know me, would you have still asked like that?"  

"Probably. I have no social etiquette." Clint replied. Then softer and more insecurely he added, "So what do you say?" 

"Yes, Clint, you may marry my science brother." Tony said with an eye roll. What other answer would there be? Clint was pretty much the only reason Bruce was still a semi-functioning human at this point. "I'm telling James though, and he'll make sure they never find the body of you mess this up." 

"I'm pretty sure the shovel talk happens when people start dating, not when they get engaged." Clint mused. Tony waited a beat and sipped at his coffee while Clint processed his words. "Wait, yes? You said yes? Tony, thank you!"  

"Yeah, I'm best man at the wedding."  

Clint made another happy noise before he hung up. Tony smiled and shook his head. Bruce was going to be very happy.  

"Who was it?" James asked as he stumbled into the room. He took Tony's coffee and started to drink it. 

Tony pouted at him, and got a tap to the nose for his trouble. "Clint. He was asking permission to marry Bruce." 

"What really?" James asked, excitement growing on his face. "That's awesome. They’ve been practically married for _ages_."  

Tony stared at his boyfriend of nearly a year and smiled. “I know. It’s disgusting,”

“Do you think Clint will propose straight away?”

“You think he won’t?” Tony asked curiously.

“I think he’ll be too excited about it today, and propose by the end of the week.” James shrugged, drinking his stolen coffee.

Tony hummed. “I could see that; or he’ll do it at Christmas.”

“Let’s hope it goes better than Phil’s proposal, no matter what the date is.” James muttered.

Tony winced. “I’m surprised she still said yes.”

“Can you remember her name?” James asked, squinting his eyes, as if that would help him remember.

“She played the cello?” Tony offered helpfully.

“We must never tell Phil that we have forgotten his wife’s name. He will actually kill us.”

“Agent’s wife’s name is Audrey.” JARVIS told them helpfully.

“Oh, yeah,” James replied. “That’s what it was: Audrey. Thanks kiddo.”

“You are welcome,” JARVIS replied, with a touch of pride. James had taken to calling JARVIS ‘kiddo’ not to long after he became Tony’s boyfriend. JARVIS had confessed to Tony that he loved being called that, having a constant reminder that he was accepted as a part of their family unit.

The name also filled Tony with a sense of family. His familial fuzzies were added to the excitement that Clint had evoked, and he jumped up into James’ arms, rubbing his nose along James’ neck.

James made a soft sound of surprise, but caught him nonetheless.

"You couldn’t handle standing up any more?" James asked him, smiling at him fondly.

"You looked entirely too good drinking my coffee. I had to hinder you, for the sake of humanity." 

James huffed. “You just wanted to know if I could carry you; admit it.”

Tony smirked before stealing a drink from his own cup of coffee.  

"Hey!"  

Tony chuckled and tucked his head in towards James' neck. James' arms tightened around him, and Tony hummed into his neck.  

Tony was happy with this state of domestic bliss, and hoped that one day, the two of them would be the ones announcing an engagement ~~(James, what have you done?)~~. The only people Tony had ever been completely and wholly committed to in his life were his bots, and now Tony could admit that he was completely committed to James too. He didn’t regret the decision.

Tony sighed and felt James swallow. “Are you drinking my coffee again?”

“I live here too, Tones. It’s _our_ coffee. Humanity will make it if I drink it or not.”

“It’s _my_ coffee because I made it. Humanity will _crumble_ if I don’t get to drink my own coffee.”

“Whatever you say, doll,”

Tony closed his eyes, basking in the domesticity of it all. “I love you.”

Tony felt James grin above him. “Good, because I love you too.”

Tony grinned into James’ neck, placing a small gentle kiss there.

JARVIS started playing a sappy love song through the speakers.

Tony groaned, and James laughed. “Exactly right, J.”

“Don’t encourage him.” Tony moaned.

James just laughed again. “Let’s go back to bed. If Stevie calls then we’ll know that Clint was too excited and popped the question straight away.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

 “Stevie will call us about planning the wedding.”

“Is that right? I knew, deep down, he’d end up being anal about it.”

“Steve’s an artist, Tones. He’ll take charge and pretend like it’s his wedding to Sam.”

“Are they together?” Tony exclaimed, jumping out of James’ grip, landing heavily on the floor. “They’ve been dancing around it for months! Especially since Sam moved in with him after you came to bunk with me.”

“No, they’re still dancing.” James grinned at him. “Doesn’t mean Stevie won’t be extra crazy though.”

Tony groaned again. The song finished gently.

“To bed?” James asked again, finishing off the coffee.

“Yeah, let’s sleep away our cares.”

James took his hand and led him to the bedroom, and manhandled Tony until they were in a comfortable position.

The coffee was nothing against a muscly hunk of flesh like James.

Bruce was getting married, and Tony had a live-in bed warmer. He couldn’t be happier.

Tony pressed himself against James, leaving just enough room for his arm. He pointed to himself, crossed his arms over his chest, then pointed at James. James smiled into Tony’s hair and copied the movement back. Tony smiled, and in sync they both rolled onto their backs and signed the same to JARVIS with cheesy grins on their faces.

JARVIS, lacking the hands to sign, replied verbally. “I care for the both of you also.”

It had been a tradition between the three of them since James first signed it to Tony. Tony had to admit that it helped him fall asleep knowing that he was surrounded by people that loved him. Tony was sure that it helped James sleep too.

***

Tony was comfortably wrapped up underneath one of James' arms. It was warm, cozy, and Tony never wanted to leave. 

"Tones, are you sleeping on me?" Tony heard, the voice vibrating through the body that Tony was leaning on. James' body. 

"Mm..." 

"That's no good." James' amused voice replied. "It's Christmas and you're asleep before one in the afternoon." 

"It's Christmas," Tony muttered. "Sleep is a gift. Season for giving." 

Tony can tell that James rolled his eyes at him. "We are at a party Tony."

Tony blinked himself more awake and remembered that they were most certainly, at a party. Originally, it had been a small party, but then James' friends became involved, and suddenly, the guest list became insanity in ink. Tony rather thought that Christmas was supposed to be an intimate thing with close friends and family. 

James' friends had other ideas; and who was Tony to deny them a party? 

Pepper was in the corner, talking with Natasha (Tony was scared), and was shooting him exasperated looks. She'd always hated it when Tony's social interaction levels failed him. 

James started tapping out a beat against Tony's leg with his free hand. "Even if we weren't at a party," James continued, "You'll want to be awake for when your other James arrives."

Tony jerked upright. 

"I knew you'd forgotten," James laughs. 

"Rhodey though. Rhodey. Months, James. I. Not since his last birthday in October." 

"I know." 

"You still haven't met him. It needs to be rectified."

"I know." 

"How do you know?"

"We've had this conversation twice already, doll." James smiled at him. 

"No. Really?"

James nodded. "Once in bed this morning, and again at the beginning of the party."

"Are you sure? I think I'd remember."

"When's Pepper's birthday?"

"No, dates, I'm not good at those, James—"

"What's she allergic to?"

"There was berry in the name. I swear it."

"When was the last time you ate?"

Tony glowered at his boyfriend. "You're doing this on purpose."

James just smirked. "Of course; I have to remind you or you'll forget, my little goldfish."

"Goldfish. That's new."

"Not one of my better moments. I'm not on my game tonight," James shrugged, leaning forward to lean against his legs. "I'm a little nervous to be meeting your Rhodey, to be honest."

"That's good. The way Tones talked you up I was sure I was about to meet Goliath." 

Tony and James jumped at the new voice and spun to find Rhodey before them. 

Tony would later deny making any squealing noises. 

"Platypus!" Tony yelled excitedly as he jumped on his friend. 

"Hey Tones," Rhodey grinned back, easily catching his friend. 

"I missed you." Tony pouted. 

Rhodey rolled his eyes. "I missed you too, nuisance." 

Tony melted into the embrace for a moment before he remembered. "Rhodey! You need to meet James."

Rhodey chuckled. "I certainly do." 

James stood up and offered his prosthetic. "James 'Bucky' Barnes. Ex-sergeant."

"James 'Rhodey' Rhodes. Colonel." Rhodey replied, grabbing the extended hand with ease. 

"I'm excited. I need apple juice. No! _Apple juice_ spiked _coffee_ , James, I'm a genius!" Tony announced, jumping out of Rhodey's arms and wandering away to find his drink. 

He ignored the James' dual amusement as he walked. They were bonding.

***

He eventually found the refreshment table, but was dismayed to find that neither drink was being offered. Tony was left with broken dreams and tearful tastebuds. He made himself a mental note to try it when he had all the proper ingredients. 

Tony wondered if cola would satisfy his excitement adequately, when a familiar hand rested at the small of his back. Tony turned and pouted at James. 

"They don't have coffee." 

James shook his head, grinning in the face of Tony's anguish. His long hair flicked about in its ponytail. Tony wasn't ready to admit that he was tired yet. 

"It's a Christmas party and we’ve been partying for hours. I'm surprised there are still drinks to be found."

"Oh!" Tony gasped, suddenly remembering, "James! You met Rhodey. He's not here. How did it go?" 

James' grin softened into a fond smile. "He's pretty swell, Tones." 

"Swell?" Tony frowned. "That's. That's a Steve word. I've told Steve that he isn't allowed to be you." 

James chuckled. "You are nowhere near functioning right now." 

Tony's frown deepened. "I am too. I'm an adult." 

"JARVIS, kiddo," James said, staring at Tony, "Before falling asleep on me earlier, when was the last time Tony slept? I remember dragging him to bed last night, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t sleep." 

"J, no—"

"You are correct, Sergeant. Approximately seven days ago was the last time Sir slept. Sir had a few nap breaks in between." 

"J, you're a filthy traitor." 

"Tony, we've talked about staying up for days on end." James scolded him gently.

"I had to." Tony pouted. "I needed lots and lots of gifts." 

"Sleep is your gift to yourself then?" 

"Yes. You woke me up." 

James chuckled again and pulled Tony in by the hand he had on his back. He tilted his head down to whisper in Tony's ear, "I think we could get away for a nap." 

Tony hummed into his boyfriends' chest, his eyes struggling to stay up. "Yes. Good idea." 

Tony could tell that James had rolled his eyes, but couldn't bring himself to care. James had started walking them towards the hall that led to the elevator that would lead them to escape. 

Of course, it wasn't that easy. 

"Stop!" 

Of course, it was Clint that made it all difficult. 

"What's the matter?" James asked, completely still. 

Tony lifted his head off of James' chest to see what the commotion was. 

Clint grinned at them, with an apologetic Bruce (who still wasn’t engaged, much to the joint disappointment of James and Tony) and a disinterested Natasha beside him. Clint pointed up. "Mistletoe." 

As one, James and Tony looked up to discover that they were indeed, under mistletoe. James shifted his weight from one foot to the other. 

A year and a bit of dating and they had never kissed before. Tony didn't know if either of them really wanted to try. 

They'd discussed kissing before, of course. James loved hand-holding, hugs and cuddles, but found kisses rather anticlimactic and wet. Tony was fine with the compromise, he wasn't overly keen on kissing a man, even if that man was James. 

"Rules are rules," Maria added from her spot next to Phil. 

But mistletoe. 

Tony was feeling more awake with all the attention on the two of them. The people in the area were mostly their close friends. Pepper and Rhodey were there too. 

The longer they stood to process, the more attention they would get. 

Tony looked at James, who was now scanning the room.

Tony knew that he'd have to be the one to fulfill the necessary action, as James would be trapped in a never-ending cycle of self-doubt and paranoia. He reached up and tilted James' head down with a hand on the other man's jaw. 

"Okay?" He whispered. 

James' eyes darted away, but he nodded. Tony gave him a small smile and pushed himself up to place a chaste kiss to his boyfriend's lips. 

There wasn't any angelic music, and it felt just as strange as Tony expected it to, but it wasn't bad.

James’ faint stubble brushed against Tony’s face, and Tony couldn’t help but focus on that the most. It was weirdly different to kissing a woman. Tony firmly decided that he preferred the plushness of women, their smooth shapes and soft lips. Even as strange as the kiss was, it was comforting. It was familiar and calming to his senses in the way that only James could manage.

They pulled away easily, and Tony settled back into his place in James arms. For whatever reason, their friends were clapping. 

"Quit it. Go back to your lives, you perverts." Tony told them. The sleepiness was coming back twice as hard. 

James let out an amused huff. "Nap time," 

Tony hummed. 

They left the room and met no resistance. James pressed the button for the elevator. 

"Was it okay?" Tony asked. 

James didn't say anything for an extended moment. "I think so. It was different." 

"Mm. Strange." 

James shifted his arms slightly. "You thought it was strange?" 

"Yeah." Tony shrugged. "Completely strange. But like… home." 

James relaxed around him. Tony hadn't realized how tense the man had become. "You're right. It was strange and very different, but it felt like home." 

Tony kissed the closest patch of skin that he could find, which happened to be James' collar bone. "You're my home. I don't know how you did it, but you are. That should be impossible. I don't live in you.” He told James sincerely, with a sleepy smile, “Kissing you is comforting, though, like working in the lab with JARVIS watching above and the bots running 'round like headless chickens while you chase them." 

James kissed his forehead. Tony could feel the smile that was on his boyfriend's face. "Kissing you is like watching Steve draw or watching you tinker for hours on end." 

"Mm... warm fuzzies." 

James chuckled as the elevator opened. "Come on Tones. Let's go take a nap." 

"Twelve hours." 

"Two hours. Maybe three if you're lucky. Pepper and Steve won't let us run away for too long." 

Tony just groaned. It was just for show though. He would be happy to get even a half hours’ rest and a cup of coffee. “Maybe Clint will finally pop the question. Don’t wanna miss that.”

“You did say that you thought Clint would do it on Christmas.”

“Ha. It.”

“Maybe I might be able to convince Pepper to let you sleep for four hours.”

“Hmm.” Tony hummed, and slumped against James. His eyelids refused to open and he barely registered it when James lifted him up.

“Go to sleep, doll. I’ll be here when you wake up.” James whispered, brushing a kiss to his forehead.

Tony smiled sleepily and let himself drift off. He sloppily signed ‘I love you’ before he remembered no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then Clint proposed to Bruce and it was a lovely wedding. Except for the part where Bucky and Tony got sick of Steve mooning over Sam and locked them in a room. They might have lost the key afterwards too...  
> Steve and Sam weren't happy to be rescued by firemen (Tony did _not_ set fire to something to have a reason to call. No. Not him), but they did get together in the end.  
>  Bruce and Clint didn't mind all the drama. (Tony also didn't invite Betty to the wedding. She never turned up.)
> 
> That's all, dearies. Unless I decide that JARVIS needs another chapter. Maybe I'll turn this into a series? I don't know. Also, please don't try coffee and apple juice. It doesn't sound nice. It sounds nasty, and that's a waste of flavoured liquid.


End file.
